Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/peruOOpres 


THE  NATIONS  OF  THE  WORLD 

AN  HISTORICAL  SERIES 

IN 

THIRTY  VOLUMES 


VOLUME  TWENTY 


PERU 


FRANCISCO  PIZARRO,  CONQUEROR  OF  PERU 

Peru , Frontispiece , vol.  one. 


PERU 


WILLIAM  H.  PRESCOTT 

IN  TWO  VOLUMES 


ILL  U ST R A TED 


VOL.  I 


NEW  YORK 

PETER  FENELON  COLLIER 


MDCCCXCVIIl 


PREFACE 


The  most  brilliant  passages  in  the  history  of  Spanish  ad- 
venture in  the  New  World  are  undoubtedly  afforded  by  the 
conquests  of  Mexico  and  Peru — the  two  states  which  com- 
bined with  the  largest  extent  of  empire  a refined  social  polity 
and  considerable  progress  in  the  arts  of  civilization.  Indeed, 
so  prominently  do  they  stand  out  on  the  great  canvas  of  his- 
tory that  the  name  of  the  one,  notwithstanding  the  contrast 
they  exhibit  in  their  respective  institutions,  most  naturally 
suggests  that  of  the  other ; and  when  I sent  to  Spain  to  collect 
materials  for  an  account  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico  I in- 
cluded in  my  researches  those  relating  to  the  Conquest  of 
Peru. 

The  larger  part  of  the  documents,  in  both  cases,  was  ob- 
tained from  the  same  great  repository — the  archives  of  the 
Royal  Academy  of  History  at  Madrid ; a body  specially  in- 
trusted with  the  preservation  of  whatever  may  serve  to  illus- 
trate the  Spanish  colonial  annals.  The  richest  portion  of  its 
collection  is  probably  that  furnished  by  the  papers  of  Munoz. 
This  eminent  scholar,  the  historiographer  of  the  Indies,  em- 
ployed nearly  fifty  years  of  his  life  in  amassing  materials  for  a 
history  of  Spanish  discovery  and  conquest  in  America.  For 
this,  as  he  acted  under  the  authority  of  the  government,  every 
facility  was  afforded  him ; and  public  offices  and  private  de- 
positories, in  all  the  principal  cities  of  the  empire,  both  at 
home  and  throughout  the  wide  extent  of  its  colonial  posses- 
sions, were  freely  opened  to  his  inspection.  The  result  was  a 
magnificent  collection  of  manuscripts,  many  of  which  he  pa- 


6 


PREFACE . 


tiently  transcribed  with  his  own  hand.  But  he  did  not  live  to 
reap  the  fruits  of  his  persevering  industry.  The  first  volume 
of  his  work,  relating  to  the  voyages  of  Columbus,  was  scarcely 
finished  when  he  died ; and  his  manuscripts,  at  least  that  por- 
tion of  them  which  have  reference  to  Mexico  and  Peru,  were 
destined  to  serve  the  uses  of  another,  an  inhabitant  of  that 
New  World  to  which  they  related. 

Another  scholar,  to  whose  literary  stores  I am  largely  in- 
debted, is  Don  Martin  Fernandez  de  Navarrete,  late  Director 
of  the  Royal  Academy  of  History.  Through  the  greater  part 
of  his  long  life  he  was  employed  in  assembling  original  docu- 
ments to  illustrate  the  colonial  annals.  Many  of  these  have 
been  incorporated  in  his  great  work,  “ Coleccion  de  los  Viages 
y Descubrimierftos,  ’ * which,  although  far  from  being  completed 
after  the  original  plan  of  its  author,  is  of  inestimable  service  to 
the  historian.  In  following  down  the  track  of  discovery,  Na- 
varrete turned  aside  from  the  conquests  of  Mexico  and  Peru, 
to  exhibit  the  voyages  of  his  countrymen  in  the  Indian  seas. 
His  manuscripts  relating  to  the  two  former  countries  he  courte- 
ously allowed  to  be  copied  for  me.  Some  of  them  have  since 
appeared  in  print,  under  the  auspices  of  his  learned  coadjutors, 
Salv&  and  Baranda,  associated  with  him  in  the  Academy ; but 
the  documents  placed  in  my  hands  formed  a most  important 
contribution  to  my  materials  for  the  present  history. 

The  death  of  this  illustrious  man,  which  occurred  some  time 
after  the  present  work  was  begun,  has  left  a void  in  his  coun- 
try not  easy  to  be  filled ; for  he  was  zealously  devoted  to  let- 
ters, and  few  have  done  more  to  extend  the  knowledge  of  her 
colonial  history.  Far  from  an  exclusive  solicitude  for  his^own 
literary  projects,  he  was  ever  ready  to  extend  his  sympathy 
and  assistance  to  those  of  others.  His  reputation  as  a scholar 
was  enhanced  by  the  higher  qualities  which  he  possessed  as  a 
man — by  his  benevolence,  his  simplicity  of  manners,  and  un- 
sullied moral  worth.  My  own  obligations  to  him  are  large ; 
for  from  the  publication  of  my  first  historical  work,  down  to 
the  last  week  of  his  life,  I have  constantly  received  proofs  from 
him  of  his  hearty  and  most  efficient  interest  in  the  prosecution 


PREFACE. 


7 


of  my  historical  labors ; and  I now  the  more  willingly  pay 
this  well-merited  tribute  to  his  deserts,  that  it  must  be  exempt 
from  all  suspicion  of  flattery. 

In  the  list  of  those  to  whom  I have  been  indebted  for  ma- 
terials I must  also  include  the  name  of  M.  Ternaux-Compans, 
so  well  known  by  his  faithful  and  elegant  French  versions  of 
the  Munoz  manuscripts ; and  that  of  my  friend,  Don  Pascual 
de  Gayangos,  who,  under  the  modest  dress  of  translation,  has 
furnished  a most  acute  and  learned  commentary  on  Spanish - 
Arabian  history,  securing  for  himself  the  foremost  rank  in 
that  difficult  department  of  letters,  which  has  been  illumined 
by  the  labors  of  a Masdeu,  a Casiri,  and  a Conde. 

To  the  materials  derived  from  these  sources  I have  added 
some  manuscripts  of  an  important  character  from  the  library  of 
the  Escorial.  These,  which  chiefly  relate  to  the  ancient  insti- 
tutions of  Peru,  formed  part  of  the  splendid  collection  of  Lord 
Kingsborough,  which  has  unfortunately  shared  the  lot  of  most 
literary  collections,  and  been  dispersed,  since  the  death  of  its 
noble  author.  For  these  I am  indebted  to  that  industrious 
bibliographer,  Mr.  O.  Rich,  now  resident  in  London.  Lastly, 
I must  not  forget  to  mention  my  obligations,  in  another  way, 
to  my  friend,  Charles  Folsom,  Esq.,  the  learned  librarian  of  the 
Boston  Athenaeum,  whose  minute  acquaintance  with  the  gram- 
matical structure  and  the  true  idiom  of  our  English  tongue  has 
enabled  me  to  correct  many  inaccuracies  into  which  I had 
fallen  in  the  composition  both  of  this  and  of  my  former  works. 

From  these  different  quarters  I have  accumulated  a large 
amount  of  manuscripts,  of  the  most  various  character  and  from 
the  most  authentic  sources ; royal  grants  and  ordinances,  in- 
structions of  the  court,  letters  of  the  emperor  to  the  great  colo- 
nial officers,  municipal  records,  personal  diaries  and  memo- 
randa, and  a mass  of  private  correspondence  of  the  principal 
actors  in  this  turbulent  drama.  Perhaps  it  was  the  turbulent 
state  of  the  country  which  led  to  a more  frequent  correspond- 
ence between  the  government  at  home  and  the  colonial  officers. 
But,  whatever  be  the  cause,  the  collection  of  manuscript  ma- 
terials in  reference  to  Peru  is  fuller  and  more  complete  than 


8 


PREFACE, 


that  which  relates  to  Mexico  ; so  that  there  is  scarcely  a nook 
or  corner  so  obscure,  in  the  path  of  the  adventurer,  that  some 
light  has  not  been  thrown  on  it  by  the  written  correspondence 
of  the  period.  The  historian  has  rather  had  occasion  to  com- 
plain of  the  embarras  des  richesses ; for  in  the  multiplicity  of 
contradictory  testimony  it  is  not  always  easy  to  detect  the 
truth,  as  the  multiplicity  of  cross-lights  is  apt  to  dazzle  and 
bewilder  the  eye  of  the  spectator. 

The  present  History  has  bepn  conducted  on  the  same  gen- 
eral plan  with  that  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico.  In  an  Intro- 
ductory Book  I have  endeavored  to  portray  the  institutions 
of  the  Incas,  that  the  reader  may  be  acquainted  with  the  char- 
acter and  condition  of  that  extraordinary  race  before  he  enters 
on  the  story  of  their  subjugation.  The  remaining  books  are 
occupied  with  the  narrative  of  the  Conquest.  And  here  the 
subject,  it  must  be  allowed,  notwithstanding  the  opportunities 
it  presents  for  the  display  of  character,  strange  romantic  inci- 
dent, and  picturesque  scenery,  does  not  afford  so  obvious  ad- 
vantages to  the  historian  as  the  Conquest  of  Mexico.  Indeed, 
few  subjects  can  present  a parallel  with  that,  for  the  purposes 
either  of  the  historian  or  the  poet.  The  natural  development 
of  the  story,  there,  is  precisely  what  would  be  prescribed  by 
the  severest  rules  of  art.  The  conquest  of  the  country  is  the 
great  end  always  in  the  view  of  the  reader.  From  the  first 
landing  of  the  Spaniards  on  the  soil,  their  subsequent  advent- 
ures, their  battles  and  negotiations,  their  ruinous  retreat,  their 
rally  and  final  siege,  all  tend  to  this  grand  result,  till  the  long 
series  is  closed  by  the  downfall  of  the  capital.  In  the  march 
of  events,  all  moves  steadily  forward  to  this  consummation. 
It  is  a magnificent  epic,  in  which  the  unity  of  interest  is  com- 
plete. 

In  the  “Conquest  of  Peru,”  the  action,  so  far  as  it  is 
founded  on  the  subversion  of  the  Incas,  terminates  long  before 
the  close  of  the  narrative.  The  remaining  portion  is  taken  up 
with  the  fierce  feuds  of  the  Conquerors,  which  would  seem, 
from  their  very  nature,  to  be  incapable  of  being  gathered 
round  a central  point  of  interest.  To  secure  this  we  must 


PREFACE. 


9 


look  beyond  the  immediate  overthrow  of  the  Indian  empire. 
The  conquest  of  the  natives  is  but  the  first  step,  to  be  .followed 
by  the  conquest  of  the  Spaniards — the  rebel  Spaniards — them 
selves,  till  the  supremacy  of  the  crown  is  permanently  estab- 
lished over  the  country.  It  is  not  till  this  period  that  the 
acquisition  of  this  transatlantic  empire  can  be  said  to  be  com- 
pleted ; and  by  fixing  the  eye  on  this  remoter  point  the  suc- 
cessive steps  of  the  narrative  will  be  found  leading  to  one  great 
result,  and  that  unity  of  interest  preserved  which  is  scarcely 
less  essential  to  historic  than  dramatic  composition.  How  far 
this  has  been  effected  in  the  present  work  must  be  left  to  the 
judgment  of  the  reader. 

No  history  of  the  Conquest  of  Peru,  founded  on  original 
documents  and  aspiring  to  the  credit  of  a classic  composition, 
like  the  “ Conquest  of  Mexico,”  by  Solis,  has  been  attempted, 
so  far  as  I am  aware,  by  the  Spaniards.  The  English  possess 
one  of  high  value,  from  the  pen  of  Robertson,  whose  masterly 
sketch  occupies  its  due  space  in  his  great  work  on  America. 
It  has  been  my  object  to  exhibit  this  same  story  in  all  its  ro- 
mantic details ; not  merely  to  portray  the  characteristic  feat- 
ures of  the  Conquest,  but  to  fill  up  the  outline  with  the  color- 
ing of  life,  so  as  to  present  a minute  and  faithful  picture  of  the 
times.  For  this  purpose,  I have,  in  the  composition  of  the 
work,  availed  myself  freely  of  my  manuscript  materials,  allowed 
the  actors  to  speak  as  much  as  possible  for  themselves,  and 
especially  made  frequent  use  of  their  letters  ; for  nowhere  is 
the  heart  more  likely  to  disclose  itself  than  in  the  freedom  of 
private  correspondence.  I have  made  liberal  extracts  from 
these  authorities  in  the  notes,  both  to  sustain  the  text,  and  to 
put  in  a printed  form  those  productions  of  the  eminent  cap- 
tains and  statesmen  of  the  time  which  are  not  very  accessible 
to  Spaniards  themselves. 

M.  Amedee  Pichot,  in  the  Preface  to  the  French  translation 
of  the  “Conquest  of  Mexico,”  infers  from  the  plan  of  the 
composition  that  I must  have  carefully  studied  the  writings  of 
his  countryman,  M.  de  Barante.  The  acute  critic  does  me  but 
justice  in  supposing  me  familiar  with  the  principles  of  that 


10 


PREFACE . 


writer’s  historical  theory,  so  ably  developed  in  the  Preface  to 
his  “ Dues  de  Bourgogne.”  And  I have  had  occasion  to  ad- 
mire the  skilful  manner  in  which  he  illustrates  this  theory  him- 
self, by  constructing  out  of  the  rude  materials  of  a distant  time 
a monument  of  genius  that  transports  us  at  once  into  the 
middle  of  the  Feudal  Ages — and  this  without  the  incongruity 
which  usually  attaches  to  a modern-antique.  In  like  manner 
I have  attempted  to  seize  the  characteristic  expression  of  a dis- 
tant age  and  to  exhibit  it  in  the  freshness  of  life.  But  in  an 
essential  particular  I have  deviated  from  the  plan  of  the  French 
historian.  I have  suffered  the  scaffolding  to  remain  after  the 
building  has  been  completed.  In  other  words,  I have  shown 
to  the  reader  the  steps  of  the  process  by  which  I have  come  to 
my  conclusions.  Instead  of  requiring  him  to  take  my  version 
of  the  story  on  trust,  I have  endeavored  to  give  him  a reason 
for  my  faith.  By  copious  citations  from  the  original  authori- 
ties, and  by  such  critical  notices  of  them  as  would  explain  to 
him  the  influences  to  which  they  were  subjected,  I have  en- 
deavored to  put  him  in  a position  for  judging  for  himself,  and 
thus  for  revising,  and,  if  need  be,  reversing,  the  judgments  of 
the  historian.  He  will,  at  any  rate,  by  this  means,  be  enabled 
to  estimate  the  difficulty  of  arriving  at  truth  amidst  the  con- 
flict of  testimony ; and  he  will  learn  to  place  little  reliance 
on  those  writers  who  pronounce  on  the  mysterious  past  with 
what  Fontenelle  calls  “a  frightful  degree  of  certainty  ” — a 
spirit  the  most  opposite  to  that  of  the  true  philosophy  of  his- 
tory. 

Yet  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  chronicler  who  records  the 
events  of  an  earlier  age  has  some  obvious  advantages  in  the 
store  of  manuscript  materials  at  his  command — the  statements 
of  friends,  rivals,  and  enemies  furnishing  a wholesome  counter- 
poise to  each  other — and  also  in  the  general  course  of  events, 
as  they  actually  occurred,  affording  the  best  commentary  on 
the  true  motives  of  the  parties.  The  actor,  engaged  in  the 
heat  of  the  strife,  finds  his  view  bounded  by  the  circle  around 
him,  and  his  vision  blinded  by  the  smoke  and  dust  of  the  con- 
flict ; while  the  spectator,  whose  eye  ranges  over  the  ground 


PREFACE. 


11 


from  a more  distant  and  elevated  point,  though  the  individual 
objects  may  lose  somewhat  of  their  vividness,  takes  in  at  a 
glance  all  the  operations  of  the  field.  Paradoxical  as  it  may 
appear,  truth  founded  on  contemporary  testimony  would  seem, 
after  all,  as  likely  to  be  attained  by  the  writer  of  a later  day  as 
by  contemporaries  themselves. 

Before  closing  these  remarks,  I may  be  permitted  to  add  a 
few  of  a personal  nature.  In  several  foreign  notices  of  my 
writings,  the  author  has  been  said  to  be  blind ; and  more  than 
once  I have  had  the  credit  of  having  lost  my  sight  in  the  com- 
position of  my  first  history.  When  I have  met  with  such 
erroneous  accounts,  I have  hastened  to  correct  them.  But  the 
present  occasion  affords  me  the  best  means  of  doing  so ; and  I 
am  the  more  desirous  of  this  as  I fear  some  of  my  own  re- 
marks, in  the  Prefaces  to  my  former  histories,  have  led  to  the 
mistake. 

While  at  the  University,  I received  an  injury  in  one  of  my 
eyes,  which  deprived  me  of  the  sight  of  it.  The  other,  soon  after, 
was  attacked  by  inflammation  so  severely  that  for  some  time 
I lost  the  sight  of  that  also ; and,  though  it  was  subsequently 
restored,  the  organ  was  so  much  disordered  as  to  remain  per- 
manently debilitated,  while  twice  in  my  life,  since,  I have  been 
deprived  of  the  use  of  it  for  all  purposes  of  reading  and  writing, 
for  several  years  together.  It  was  during  one  of  these  periods 
that  I received  from  Madrid  the  materials  for  the  ‘ ‘ History  of 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella,”  and  in  my  disabled  condition,  with 
my  transatlantic  treasures  lying  around  me,  I was  like  one 
pining  from  hunger  in  the  midst  of  abundance.  In  this  state 
I resolved  to  make  the  ear,  if  possible,  do  the  work  of  the  eye. 
I procured  the  services  of  a secretary,  who  read  to  me  the  vari- 
ous authorities  ; and  in  time  I became  so  far  familiar  with  the 
sounds  of  the  different  foreign  languages  (to  some  of  which,  in- 
deed, I had  been  previously  accustomed  by  a residence  abroad) 
that  I could  comprehend  his  reading  without  much  difficulty. 
As  the  reader  proceeded,  I dictated  copious  notes ; and  when 
these  had  swelled  to  a considerable  amount  they  were  read  to 
me  repeatedly,  till  I had  mastered  their  contents  sufficiently  for 


12 


PREFACE. 


the  purposes  of  composition.  The  same  notes  furnished  an 
easy  means  of  reference  to  sustain  the  text. 

Still  another  difficulty  occurred,  in  the  mechanical  labor  of 
writing,  which  I found  a severe  trial  to  the  eye.  This  was 
remedied  by  means  of  a writing-case,  such  as  is  used  by  the 
blind,  which  enabled  me  to  commit  my  thoughts  to  paper  with- 
out the  aid  of  sight,  serving  me  equally  well  in  the  dark  as  in 
the  light.  The  characters  thus  formed  made  a near  approach 
to  hieroglyphics ; but  my  secretary  became  expert  in  the  art  of 
deciphering,  and  a fair  copy— with  a liberal  allowance  for  un- 
avoidable blunders — was  transcribed  for  the  use  of  the  printer. 
I have  described  the  process  with  more  minuteness,  as  some 
curiosity  has  been  repeatedly  expressed  in  reference  to  my  mo- 
dus operandi  under  my  privations,  and  the  knowledge  of  it 
may  be  of  some  assistance  to  others  in  similar  circumstances. 

Though  I was  encouraged  by  the  sensible  progress  of  my 
work,  it  was  necessarily  slow.  But  in  time  the  tendency  to 
inflammation  diminished,  and  the  strength  of  the  eye  was  con- 
firmed more  and  more.  It  was  at  length  so  far  restored  that  I 
could  read  for  several  hours  of  the  day,  though  my  labors  in 
this  way  necessarily  terminated  with  the  daylight.  Nor  could 
I ever  dispense  with  the  services  of  a secretary,  or  with  the 
writing-case ; for,  contrary  to  the  usual  experience,  I have 
found  writing  a severer  trial  to  the  eye  than  reading,  a re- 
mark, however,  which  does  not  apply  to  the  reading  of  manu- 
script ; and  to  enable  myself,  therefore,  to  revise  my  compo- 
sition more  carefully,  I caused  a copy  of  the  “ History  of 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella  ’ * to  be  printed  for  my  own  inspection 
before  it  was  sent  to  the  press  for  publication.  Such  as  I have 
described  was  the  improved  state  of  my  health  during  the 
preparation  of  the  “ Conquest  of  Mexico  ; ” and,  satisfied  with 
being  raised  so  nearly  to  a level  with  the  rest  of  my  species,  I 
scarcely  envied  the  superior  good  fortune  of  those  who  could  pro- 
long their  studies  into  the  evening  and  the  later  hours  of  the  night. 

But  a change  has  again  taken  place  during  the  last  two  years. 
The  sight  of  my  eye  has  become  gradually  dimmed,  while  the 
sensibility  of  the  nerve  has  been  so  far  increased  that  for  sev- 


PREFACE. 


13 


eral  weeks  of  the  last  year  I have  not  opened  a volume,  and 
through  the  whole  time  I have  not  had  the  use  of  it,  on  an 
average,  for  more  than  an  hour  a day.  Nor  can  I cheer  my- 
self with  the  delusive  expectation  that,  impaired  as  the  organ 
has  become  from  having  been  tasked,  probably,  beyond  its 
strength,  it  can  ever  renew  its  youth,  or  be  of  much  service  to 
me  hereafter  in  my  literary  researches.  Whether  I shall  have 
the  heart  to  enter,  as  I had  proposed,  on  a new  and  more 
extensive  field  of  historical  labor,  with  these  impediments,  I 
cannot  say.  Perhaps  long  habit,  and  a natural  desire  to  fol- 
low up  the  career  which  I have  so  long  pursued,  may  make 
this,  in  a manner,  necessary,  as  my  past  experience  has  already 
proved  that  it  is  practicable. 

From  this  statement — too  long,  I fear,  for  his  patience — the 
reader  who  feels  any  curiosity  about  the  matter  will  understand 
the  real  extent  of  my  embarrassments  in  my  historical  pursuits. 
That  they  have  not  been  very  light  will  be  readily  admitted, 
when  it  is  considered  that  I have  had  but  a limited  use  of  my 
eye  in  its  best  state,  and  that  much  of  the  time  I have  been 
debarred  from  the  use  of  it  altogether.  Yet  the  difficulties  I 
have  had  to  contend  with  are  very  far  inferior  to  those  which 
fall  to  the  lot  of  a blind  man.  I know  of  no  historian  now 
alive  who  can  claim  the  glory  of  having  overcome  such  obsta- 
cles but  the  author  of  “ La  Conquete  de  l’Angleterre  par  les 
Normands,”  who,  to  use  his  own  touching  and  beautiful  lan- 
guage, “ has  made  himself  the  friend  of  darkness,”  and  who, 
to  a profound  philosophy  that  requires  no  light  but  that  from 
within,  unites  a capacity  for  extensive  and  various  research, 
that  might  well  demand  the  severest  application  of  the  student. 

The  remarks  into  which  I have  been  led  at  such  length  will, 
I trust,  not  be  set  down  by  the  reader  to  an  unworthy  egotism, 
but  to  their  true  source,  a desire  to  correct  a misapprehension 
to  which  I may  have  unintentionally  given  rise  myself,  and 
which  has  gained  me  the  credit  with  some — far  from  grateful 
to  my  feelings,  since  undeserved — of  having  surmounted  the 
incalculable  obstacles  which  lie  in  the  path  of  the  blind  man. 

Boston,  April  2,  1847. 


CONTENTS 


OF 

THE  FIRST  VOLUME. 


BOOK  I. 

INTRODUCTION.— VIEW  OF  THE  CIVILIZATION  OF 

THE  INCAS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PHYSICAL  ASPECT  OF  THE  COUNTRY. — SOURCES  OF  PERUVIAN  CIVILIZA- 
TION.— EMPIRE  OV  THE  INCAS. — ROYAL  FAMILY. — NOBILITY,  p.  2J. 


PAGE 

Extent  of  the  Peruvian  Empire.  28 

Its  Topographical  Aspect 28 

Unfavorable  to  Husbandry ....  29 

Natural  Impediments  overcome  30 

Source  of  Civilization 30 

Children  of  the  Sun 30 

Other  Traditions 32 

Their  Uncertainty 32 

Conquests  of  the  Incas 34 

City  of  Cuzco 35 

Fortress  of  Cuzco 36 

Its  remarkable  Structure 37 

Queen  of  the  Inca 38 

Heir-apparent  38 

Order  of  Chivalry 39 

Ceremonies  of  Admission 39 


PAGB 


Inca  a Despot  41 

His  Dress 42 

Intercourse  with  the  People 42 

Progresses  through  the  Country  43 

Royal  Palaces 44 

Their  gorgeous  Decorations  ...  44 

Gardens  of  Yucay. 45 

All  closed  at  the  Inca’s  Death  . 46 

Obsequies  of  the  Incas 46 

Their  Bodies  preserved 47 

Produced  at  Festivals 48 

Inca  Nobles 49 

Their  exclusive  Privileges 49 

Curacas • • • 50 

Inca  Nobility  the  highest 50 


CHAPTER  II. 


ORDERS  OF  THE  STATE.  — PROVISIONS  FOR  JUSTICE.  — DIVISION  OF 
LANDS. — REVENUES  AND  REGISTERS. — GREAT  ROADS  AND  POSTS.— 


MILITARY  TACTICS  AND  POLICY, 


Name  of  Peru 52 

Divisions  of  the  Empire 52 

Tribunals  of  Justice 53 

Character  of  the  Laws 54 


).  51. 

Simple  Administration  of  Jus- 
tice   55 

Threefold  Distribution  of  Lands  56 
Division  renewed  yearly 57 


16 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Agrarian  Law 57 

The  Land  cultivated  by  the 

People 58 

Appropriation  and  Care  of  the 

Llamas 59 

Woollen  Manufactures 59 

Labor  in  Peru . 60 

Registers  and  Surveys  by 

Government 61 

Rotation  of  Labor 62 

Magazines  of  Products  and  Man- 
ufactures   62 

Taxation  borne  wholly  by  the 

People 64 

No  Room  for  Progress 65 

No  Pauperism' 65 

Monuments  of  Peruvian  In- 
dustry   . 66 

Great  Roads 66 

Suspension  Bridges 67 

Caravansaries,  or  Tambos 68 

System  of  Posts . 69 


PAGE 


Relays  of  Couriers 70 

Military  Policy  of  the  Incas 71 

Conquests  in  the  Name  of  Re- 
ligion  72 

Peruvian  Army 72 

Arms  and  Armor 73 

Military  Quarters  and  Magazines  74 

Lenient  Policy  in  War 75 

Religion  of  the  Conquered  Na- 
tions   76 

Disposition  of  the  Conquered 

Territory 76 

Quichua  Language 77 

Mitimaes 79 

Unity  of  Purpose  in  Peruvian 

Institutions . 80 

Domestic  Quiet  their  Aim 80 

Religious  Character  of  Peruvian 

Wars 81 

Singular  Harmony  in  their  Em- 
pire   82 


CHAPTER  IIL 


PERUVIAN  RELIGION. — DEITIES. — GORGEOUS  TEMPLES. — FESTIVALS. — 
VIRGINS  OF  THE  SUN. — MARRIAGE,  p.  83. 


Religion  of  the  American  Races 
Peruvian  Notions  of  a Future 

Life 

Embalming  and  Burial 

Idea  of  God 

Worship  of  the  Sun 

Inferior  Deities 

Temple  of  the  Sun  at  Cuzco.  . . . 

Its  Richness  and  Splendor 

Temples  of  Inferior  Deities. . . . 
Utensils  and  Ornaments  of  Gold 
Proofs  of  Ancient  Magnificence 


83 


84 

84 

85 


86 

86 

88 


89 

89 


90 

91 


High  Priest 

Sacerdotal  Order 

Duties  of  Priests 

Festival  of  Raymi ..... 
Human  Sacrifices  Rare . 

Sacred  Flame 

Religious  Ceremony . . . 
Virgins  of  the  Sun ..... 

Convents 

Brides  of  the  Inca 

Marriage  universal  .... 
Provisions  for  Marriage 


92 

93 
93 
93 

96 

9» 

98 

98 

100 

100 


CHAPTER  IV. 

EDUCATION. — QUIPUS. — ASTRONOMY.  — AGRICULTURE.  — AQUEDUCTS. — 


GUANO.  — IMPORTANT 

Education  in  Peru 101 

Seminaries  and  Amautas 102 

Quipus  and  Quipucamayus. . . . 103 
Method  of  transmitting  History  104 
Various  Symbols  of  Thought  . . 105 
Quipus  the  Poorest 105 


ESCULENTS,  p.  IOI. 

Traditional  Minstrelsy 107 

Quichua  Dialect 107 

Theatrical  Exhibitions 107 

Division  of  Time 108 

Regulated  by  the  Equinoxes.  . . 109 
Little  Progress  in  Astronomy  . . 109 


CONTENTS . 


17 


PAGB 

The  Inca’s  Care  o!  Agriculture,  hi 


System  of  Irrigation 112 

Aqueducts 112 

Terraces  on  the  Sierra 113 

Guano 114 

Substitute  for  the  Plough 115 


PAGE 


Fairs 1 16 

Variety  of  Products 116 

Indian  Corn.  117 

Cuca 1 18 

Potatoes 1 18 


CHAPTER  V. 

PERUVIAN  SHEEP.  — GREAT  HUNTS.  — MANUFACTURES.  — MECHANICAL 
SKILL. — ARCHITECTURE. — CONCLUDING  REFLECTIONS,  p.  II9. 


Advantages  for  Manufactures.  . 119 

The  Llama 120 

Alpacas 12 1 

Huanacos  and  Vicunas 122 

Great  Annual  Hunts 123 

Woollen  Manufactures 124 

Division  of  Mechanical  Labor.  . 125 
Extraordinary  Dexterity  in  the 

Arts. ......  125 

No  Use  of  Iron 126 

Gold  and  Silver 126 

Architecture  a Test  of  Civiliza- 
tion   128 

Peruvian  Architecture 128 

Houses 128 


Their  Simplicity  of  Construction  129 

Adaptation  to  Climate 130 

Comparison  between  the  Inca 

and  Aztec  Races 131 

In  Policy  and  Religion 132 

In  Science 133 

Peruvian  and  Eastern  Empires.  134 
The  Incas  perfect  Despots  ...  134 

Careful  of  the  People 136 

No  Free  Agency  in  Peru 136 

No  Idleness  or  Poverty 137 

Influence  of  Government  on 

Character 138 

Life  and  Works  of  Sarmiento.  . 141 
And  of  Polo  de  Ondegardo ....  143 


BOOK  II. 

DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 
CHAPTER  I. 


ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  SCIENCE. — ART  OF  NAVIGATION. — MARITIME  DIS- 
COVERY.— SPIRIT  OF  THE  SPANIARDS. — POSSESSIONS  IN  THE  NEW 
WORLD. — RUMORS  CONCERNING  PERU,  p.  I47. 


Introductory  Remarks 147 

Progress  in  Navigation 149 

Early  Voyages  of  Discovery ....  150 

Discovery  of  America 15 1 

Romantic  Expectations.  : 152 

Northern  and  Southern  Advent- 
ures. . 153 


Extent  of  Discovery 154 

Balboa  reaches  the  Pacific 155 

Colonial  Policy  156 

Pedro  Arias  de  Avila 156 

Foundation  of  Panama  157 

First  Southern  Expedition  ....  158 
Rumor  respecting  Peru  158 


18 


CONTENTS . 


CHAPTER  II. 

FRANCISCO  PIZARRO. — HIS  EARLY  HISTORY. — FIRST  EXPEDITION  TO  THE 
SOUTH. — DISTRESSES  OF  THE  VOYAGERS. — SHARP  ENCOUNTERS. — RE- 
TURN TO  PANAMA. — ALMAGRO’S  EXPEDITION,  p.  1 59. 


PAGE  ; 

Francisco  Pizarro’s  Early  Life  159 


He  goes  to  Hispaniola. .......  16 1 

Various  Adventures 161 

He  accompanies  Pedrarias  to 

Panama 162 

Southern  Expeditions 162 

Almagro  and  Luque 164 

Their  Union  with  Pizarro 164 


First  Expedition  for  Discovery.  165  1 
Pizarro  takes  Command  of  It.  . 165 

Enters  the  River  Biru 166 

Distresses  on  Shore 166 

Pursues  his  Voyage  along  the 

Coast 166 

Heavy  Tempests 167 

Puts  back  and  Lands 169 

Great  Sufferings  of  the  Span- 
iards   169 


PAGE 

Montenegro  sent  back  for  Sup- 
plies   169 

Great  Distresses  during  his  Ab- 
sence   169 

Indian  Village 170 

He  Returns  with  Assistance  ...  171 
Uncertainty  of  the  Spaniards  . . 172 
They  proceed  farther  South. ...  172 

Traces  of  Cannibalism 173 

Pizarro  Reconnoitres  the  Coun- 
try  174 

Fierce  Conflict  with  the  Natives  174 

Danger  of  Pizarro 174 

He  sends  back  his  Vessel 176 

Adventures  of  Almagro 176 

He  joins  Pizarro 177 

Returns  to  Panama 178 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  FAMOUS  CONTRACT. — SECOND  EXPEDITION. — RUIZ  EXPLORES  THE 
COAST. — PIZARRO’S  SUFFERINGS  IN  THE  FORESTS. — ARRIVAL  OF  NEW 
RECRUITS. — FRESH  DISCOVERIES  AND  DISASTERS. — PIZARRO  ON  THE 
ISLE  OF  GALLO,  p.  1 78. 


Almagro  coolly  received  by  Pe- 
drarias   178 

Influence  of  Fernando  de  Luque  179 
Narrow  Views  of  the  Governor.  180 

His  subsequent  History 181 

Pizarro,  Almagro,  and  Luque.  . 182 
Famous  Contract  for  Discover- 
ing Peru 183 

Religious  Tone  assumed  in  It.  . 183 
Motives  of  the  Conquerors.  . . . 184 
Luque’ s Share  in  the  Enterprise  184 
Preparations  for  the  Voyage.  ...  185 

Insufficiency  of  Supplies 186 

Sailing  of  the  Armament 186 

Almagro  returns  to  Panamd.  . . . 187 
The  Pilot  Ruiz  explores  the 

Coast 187 

Indian  Balsas 188 

Signs  of  higher  Civilization  ....  189 


Returns  with  Indian  Captives.  . 189 
Pizarro’s  Journey  into  the  Inte- 
rior   189 

Frightful  Difficulties  of  the 

March 190 

Almagro  returns  with  Recruits.  19 1 
They  continue  their  Voyage ....  192 

Thickly  settled  Country  193 

Gold  and  Precious  Stones 193 

Warlike  Aspect  of  the  Natives  . 194 
Deliberations  of  the  Spaniards.  195 
Dispute  between  Pizarro  and  Al- 
magro   195 

The  latter  returns  to  Panamd.  . 196 
Pizarro  remains  at  the  Isle  of 

Gallo 196 

His  Followers  discontented.  . . . 197 
Send  Home  a secret  Letter. . . 197 


CONTENTS. 


19 


CHAPTER  IV. 

INDIGNATION  OF  THE  GOVERNOR. — STERN  RESOLUTION  OF  PIZARRO.-- 
PROSECUTION  OF  THE  VOYAGE. — BRILLIANT  ASPECT  OF  TUMBEZ. — DIS- 
COVERIES  ALONG  THE  COAST. — RETURN  TO  PANAMA. — PIZARRO  EM- 
BARKS FOR  SPAIN,  p.  I98. 


PAGE 

Pizarro  ordered  to  Return 199 

He  refuses 200 

His  bold  Resolution 201 

Thirteen  adhere  to  him 201 

Pizarro’ s heroic  Constancy  ....  202 
Remove  to  the  Isle  of  Gorgona . 203 
Efforts  of  Luque  and  Almagro . . 203 

Succors  sent  to  Pizarro 204 

He  continues  his  Voyage 205 

Enters  the  Gulf  of  Guayaquil . . 206 

Lands  at  Tumbez 206 

Kind  Reception  by  its  Inhabi- 
tants   207 

Visit  of  an  Inca  Noble 208 

Adventure  of  Molina 209 

Kindly  treated  by  the  Natives.  . 209 
Pedro  de  Candia  sent  on  Shore.  210 
Reports  of  the  Riches  of  the 

Place 211 

Joy  of  the  Spaniards 212 


PAGE 

Pizarro  again  Steers  for  the  South  213 
Tossed  about  by  Tempests. ...  213 
Touches  at  various  Points  of  the 

Coast 214 

Splendid  Accounts  of  the  Peru- 
vian Empire  214 

Arrives  at  the  Port  of  Santa.  ...  215 

Homeward  Voyage 216 

Lands  at  Santa  Cruz 216 

Entertained  by  an  Indian  Prin- 
cess   216 

Continues  his  Voyage  to  Panama  217 
Joy  and  Triumph  of  his  Associ- 
ates   218 

Coldness  of  the  Governor 218 

Pizarro  goes  as  Envoy  to  Spain  219 
Notice  of  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega  220 

His  Life  and  Writings 221 

Character  of  his  Works 223 


BOOK  III. 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PIZARRO’S  RECEPTION  AT  COURT. — HIS  CAPITULATION  WITH  THE  CROWN. 
— HE  VISITS  HIS  BIRTHPLACE. — RETURNS  TO  THE  NEW  WORLD. — DIF- 
FICULTIES WITH  ALMAGRO.— rHIS  THIRD  EXPEDITION. — ADVENTURES 
ON  THE  COAST. — BATTLES  IN  THE  ISLE  OF  PUNA,  p.  226. 


Pizarro  in  Spain 226 

Gracious  Reception  at  Court  . . 227 
Relates  his  Adventures  to  the 

Emperor 228 

His  Capitulation  with  the  Crown  228 
Dignities  Conferred  on  him ....  229 
Provisions  in  Behalf  of  the  Na- 
tives   230 


Grasping  Spirit  of  Pizarro 231 

He  Visits  his  Birthplace 232 

The  Pizarro  Family 233 

His  Brother  Hernando 233 

Obstacles  to  the  Expedition,  . . . 234 
Sails  and  crosses  to  Nombre  de 

Dios 235 

Almagro  greatly  Discontented  . 235 


20 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

A Rupture  with  Difficulty  pre- 
vented   236 

Expedition  fitted  out  at  Panama  237 
Pizarro’s  Final  Voyage  to  Peru  238 
Driven  into  the  Bay  of  St.  Mat- 
thew   238 

Lands  his  Forces 238 

Plunders  an  Indian  Village ....  239 
Division  of  Spoil 239 


PAG* 

He  Marches  along  the  Coast  . . 241 
Sufferings  and  Discontent  of  the 


Spaniards 241 

They  reach  Puerto  Viejo 242 

Joined  by  Reinforcements 242 

Cross  to  Isle  of  Puna 241 


Conspiracy  of  its  Inhabitants  . . 243 
They  attack  the  Spanish  Camp  244 
Arrival  of  De  Soto  with  Recruits  246 


CHAPTER  II. 

PERU  AT  THE  TIME  OF  THE  CONQUEST. — REIGN  OF  HUAYNA  CAPAC. — THE 
INCA  BROTHERS. — CONTEST  FOR  THE  EMPIRE. — TRIUMPH  AND  CRUEL- 


TIES OF  ATAHUALLPA,  p.  247. 


The  Inca  Huayna  Capac 247 

His  Apprehensions  respecting 

the  White  Men 248 

Prognostics  of  Trouble  in  Peru.  249 

Atahuallpa  the  Inca’s  Son 250 

Shares  the  Empire  with  his 

Brother  Huascar 251 

Causes  of  Jealousy  between  them  252 
Commencement  of  Hostilities . . 253 
Huascar’ s Forces  Defeated. . . . 254 


Ravage  of  Canaris 255 

Atahuallpa  Marches  on  Cuzco . . 255 

His  Victory  at  Quipaypan 256 

Capture  of  Huascar 256 

Accounts  of  Atahuallpa’s  Cruel- 
ties   257 

Reasons  for  Doubting  their  Ac- 
curacy  259 

Atahuallpa’s  Triumph 259 

His  Want  of  Foresight 260 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  SPANIARDS  LAND  AT  TUMBEZ. — PIZARRO  RECONNOITRES  THE  COUN- 
TRY.— FOUNDATION  OF  SAN  MIGUEL. — MARCH  INTO  THE  INTERIOR. — 
EMBASSY  FROM  THE  INCA. — ADVENTURES  ON  THE  MARCH. — ARRIVAL 
AT  THE  FOOT  OF  THE  ANDES,  p.  260. 


Spaniards  pass  over  to  Tumbez.  260 
The  Place  Deserted  and  Dis- 
mantled   261 

Its  Curaca  captured 261 

Pizarro  reconnoitres  the  Coun- 
try  264 

His  conciliating  Policy 265 

He  founds  San  Miguel 265 

Learns  the  State  of  the  Kingdom  266 
Determines  to  Strike  into  the 

Interior 267 

His  probable  Intentions 267 

Boldness  of  the  Enterprise  ....  268 
Marches  through  the  Level 
Country 268 


Hospitality  of  the  Natives 269 

Discontent  in  the  Army 270 

Pizarro’s  Expedient  to  quiet  it  . 271 

Reception  at  Zaran 271 

Envoy  from  the  Inca 271 

Courteously  received  by  Pizarro  272 

His  Message  to  the  Inca 273 

De  Soto’s  Expedition 273 

His  Accounts  of  the  Indian  Em- 
pire   274 

March  toward  Caxamalca 275 

Contradictory  Information  ....  276 

Emissary  to  Atahuallpa 277 

Effective  Eloquence  of  Pizarro.  278 


CONTENTS. 


21 


CHAPTER  IV. 

SEVERE  PASSAGE  OF  THE  ANDES. — EMBASSIES  FROM  ATAHUALLPA. — THE 
SPANIARDS  REACH  CAXAMALCA. — EMBASSY  TO  THE  INCA. — INTERVIEW 
WITH  THE  INCA. — DESPONDENCY  OF  THE  SPANIARDS,  p.  279. 


PAGE 

March  over  the  Andes  279  j 

Fearful  Passes  of  the  Sierra.  . . . 280 
Toilsome  and  Dangerous  Ascent  280  | 

Mountain  Fortresses 281 

The  Army  gain  the  Summit. ...  281 

Indian  Embassy  282 

Lofty  Tone  of  Pizarro 282 

Return  of  the  Spanish  Envoy.  . 283 
Different  Accounts  of  Atahu- 

allpa 284 

Bold  Descent  of  the  Cordilleras  284 
Beautiful  Valley  of  Caxamalca.  284 
Imposing  View  of  the  Peruvian 
Camp 285 


PAGE 


Entrance  into  Caxamalca  .....  286 

Description  of  the  City 287 

De  Soto  sent  to  Atahuallpa.  . . . 288 
His  Interview  with  the  Monarch  290 
Haughty  Demeanor  of  the  Lat- 
ter   290 

His  Reply  to  Pizarro 291 

Soto’s  Exhibition  of  Horseman- 
ship  291 

Gloomy  Forebodings  of  the 

Spaniards 292 

Courage  of  Pizarro 293 

Daring  Plan  for  seizing  the  Inca  294 
Reasons  for  its  Adoption 295 


CHAPTER  V. 

DESPERATE  PLAN  OF  PIZARRO. — ATAHUALLPA  VISITS  THE  SPANIARDS. — 
HORRIBLE  MASSACRE. — THE  INCA  A PRISONER. — CONDUCT  OF  THE 
CONQUERORS. — SPLENDID  PROMISES  OF  THE  INCA. — DEATH  OF  HUAS- 
CAR,  p.  296. 


Disposition  of  tne  Spanish 

Troops 296 

Religious  Ceremonies .........  297 

Approach  of  the  Inca 298 

Designs  not  to  enter  the  Town.  299 
Disappointment  of  the  Spaniards  299 
Atahuallpa  changes  his  Purpose  299 
Leaves  his  Warriors  behind.  . . 299 

Enters  the  Great  Square 301 

Urged  to  embrace  Christianity.  301 
He  rejects  it  .with  Disdain  ....  303 
General  Attack  of  the  Spaniards  304 
Bloody  Massacre  of  the  Peru- 
vians   305 

Seizure  of  Atahuallpa 306 


Dispersion  of  his  Army 307 

Demeanor  of  the  Captive  Mon- 
arch   308 

His  probable  Designs 308 

Courteously  treated  by  Pizarro.  309 

Indian  Prisoners 310 

Rich  Spoils  of  the  Inca 312 

Magnificent  Offer  of  Atahuallpa  313 

Accepted  by  Pizarro 314 

Inca’s  Mode  of  Life  in  Captiv- 
ity  314 

Refuses  to  embrace  Christianity  315 
Assassination  of  his  Brother 
Huascar 316 


22 


CONTENTS . 


CHAPTER  VI. 

GOLD  ARRIVES  FOR  THE  RANSOM. — VISIT  TO  PACHACAMAC. — DEMOLITION 
OF  THE  IDOL. — THE  INCA’S  FAVORITE  GENERAL. — THE  INCA’S  LIFE  IN 
CONFINEMENT. — ENVOYS’  CONDUCT  IN  CUZCO. — ARRIVAL  OF  ALMAGRO, 

P.  318. 


PAGE 


Slow  Arrival  of  the  Ransom. . . 318 
Rumors  of  an  Indian  Rising.  . . 319 

Emissaries  sent  to  Cuzco  319 

City  and  Temple  of  Pachacamac  320 
Hernando  Pizarro’s  March 

thither 320 

Great  Road  of  the  Inca 321 

Herds  of  Llamas 321 

Rich  Cultivation  of  the  Valleys.  322 
Hernando’s  Arrival  at  the  City.  323 
Forcible  Entry  into  the  Temple  323 

Horror  of  the  Natives . . .'.  323 

Destruction  of  the  Indian  Idol.  324 

Small  Amount  of  Booty 325 

Hernando  Marches  against 

Challcuchima 326 

Persuades  him  to  visit  Caxa- 
malca 326 


PAGE 


Interview  of  Atahuallpa  with  his 

General 327 

The  Inca’s  absolute  Authority.  . 327 
His  Personal  Habits  and  Ap- 
pearance   328 

Return  of  the  Emissaries  from 

Cuzco 329 

Magnificent  Reports  of  the  City  329 
They  stripped  the  Gold  from  the 

Temples 329 

Their  Insolence  and  Rapacity.  . 330 
Return  with  Loads  of  Treasure  330 

Almagro  arrives  in  Peru 331 

Brings  a large  Reinforcement.  . 332 

Joins  Pizarro’s  Camp 332 

Superstitious  Bodings  of  Ata- 
huallpa  333 


CHAPTER  VII. 

IMMENSE  AMOUNT  OF  TREASURE. — ITS  DIVISION  AMONG  THE  TROOPS. — 
RUMORS  OF  A RISING.— TRIAL  OF  THE  INCA. — HIS  EXECUTION.— RE- 
FLECTIONS, p.  333. 


Division  of  the  Inca’s  Ransom.  334 
Hernando  takes  the  Royal  Fifth 

to  Spain 335 

His  Jealousy  of  Almagro 335 

Enormous  Amount  of  the  Treas- 
ure   336 

Difficulties  in  its  Distribution. . 337 

Shares  of  the  Pizarros 338 

Those  of  the  Soldiers 339 

Exclusion  of  Almagro  and  his 

Followers 340 

Preparations  for  the  March  to 

Cuzco 340 

The  Inca  demands  his  Liberty.  341 
Equivocal  Conduct  of  Pizarro.  . 341 

The  Interpreter  Felipillo  342 

The  Inca  charged  with  exciting 
Insurrection 343 


His  Protestations  of  Innocence.  343 

His  Apprehensions 344 

Fears  and  Murmurs  of  the 

Spaniards 344 

They  demand  the  Inca’s  Death  344 

He  is  brought  to  Trial 345 

Charges  against  him 345 

Condemned  to  be  burnt  Alive.  . 346 
Some  protest  against  the  Sen- 
tence   , 347 

The  Inca  entirely  Unmanned . . 348 
His  earnest  Entreaties  for  Mercy  348 

Led  to  Execution 348 

Abjures  his  Religion 349 

Perishes  by  the  Garrote 346 

His  Character  and  Appearance.  350 

Funeral  Obsequies 351 

Return  of  De  Soto 352 


CONTENTS. 


23 


PAGE 

His  Indignation  and  Astonish- 
ment   352 

Reflections  on  the  Inca’s  Treat- 
ment  353] 


PAGE 


Responsibility  of  Pizarro 354 

Motives  of  personal  Pique 355 

Views  of  Chroniclers  respecting 
the  Execution 356 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

DISORDERS  IN  PERU. — MARCH  TO  CUZCO. — ENCOUNTER  WITH  THE 
NATIVES. — CHALLCUCHIMA  BURNT. — ARRIVAL  IN  CUZCO. — DESCRIPTION 
OF  THE  CITY. — TREASURE  FOUND  THERE,  p.  357. 


Authority  of  the  Inca  in  Peru.  . 357 
Effects  of  Atahuallpa’s  Death.  . 357 
New  Inca  appointed  by  Pizarro.  358 

March  to  Cuzco 359 

Formidable  Mountain-passes  . . 360 
Tedious  and  painful  Route.  . . . 360 

Conflict  with  the  Indians 361 

Pizarro  halts  at  Xauxa 362 

De  Soto  sent  forward 362 

Furiously  assaulted  in  the  Sierra  362 
Fierce  Battle  with  the  Indians  . 363 
Apprehensions  of  the  Spaniards  364 

Arrival  of  Succors 364 

The  Peruvians  Retreat 365 

Challcuchima  accused  of  Con- 
spiracy   366 


Death  of  the  Inca  Toparca 366 

Rich  Vale  of  Xaquixaguana  . . . 367 
Trial  and  Condemnation  of 

Challcuchima 367 

Burned  alive  before  the  Army.  . 368 

Spaniards  arrive  at  Cuzco 369 

Entrance  into  the  Capital 370 

Its  large  Population 370 

Gorgeous  Edifices 371 

Its  massive  Fortress 372 

Temple  of  the  Sun 373 

Plunder  of  the  Public  Buildings  374 
Amount  of  Treasure  secured.  . . 375 
Its  Division  among  the  Troops.  375 
Its  Effect  upon  the  Spaniards.  . 376 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PERU 

VOL.  I 


Frontispiece — Pizarro 
Execution  of  the  Inca 
Pedro  de  la  Gasca 
Pizarro  in  Peru  . 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU 


BOOK  I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

VIEW  OF  THE  CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Physical  Aspect  of  the  Country. — Sources  of  Peruvian  Civilization. — Em* 
pire  of  the  Incas. — Royal  Family. — Nobility. 

Of  the  numerous  nations  which  occupied  the  great  Ameri- 
can continent  at  the  time  of  its  discovery  by  the  Europeans, 
the  two  most  advanced  in  power  and  refinement  were  un- 
doubtedly those  of  Mexico  and  Peru.  But,  though  resem- 
bling one  another  in  extent  of  civilization,  they  differed  widely 
as  to  the  nature  of  it ; and  the  philosophical  student  of  his 
species  may  feel  a natural  curiosity  to  trace  the  different  steps 
by  which  these  two  nations  strove  to  emerge  from  the  state  of 
barbarism  and  place  themselves  on  a higher  point  in  the  scale 
of  humanity.  In  a former  work  I have  endeavored  to  exhibit 
the  institutions  and  character  of  the  ancient  Mexicans,  and  the 
story  of  their  conquest  by  the  Spaniards.  The  present  will  be 
devoted  to  the  Peruvians ; and,  if  their  history  shall  be  found 
to  present  less  strange  anomalies  and  striking  contrasts  than 
that  of  the  Aztecs,  it  may  interest  us  quite  as  much  by  the 
pleasing  picture  it  offers  of  a well-regulated  government  and 
sober  habits  of  industry  under  the  patriarchal  sway  of  the  Incas. 

The  Empire  of  Peru,  at  the  period  of  the  Spanish  invasion. 

Peru  2 Vol.  1 


28 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  I. 


stretched  along  the  Pacific  from  about  the  second  degree  north 
to  the  thirty-seventh  degree  of  south  latitude;  a line,  also, 
which  describes  the  western  boundaries  of  the  modern  re- 
publics of  Ecuador,  Peru,  Bolivia,  and  Chili.  Its  breadth 
cannot  so  easily  be  determined ; for,  though  bounded  every- 
where by  the  great  ocean  on  the  west,  toward  the  east  it 
spread  out,  in  many  parts,  considerably  beyond  the  moun- 
tains, to  the  confines  of  barbarous  states,  whose  exact  position 
is  undetermined,  or  whose  names  are  effaced  from  the  map  of 
history.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  its  breadth  was  altogether 
disproportioned  to  its  length.1 

The  topographical  aspect  of  the  country  is  very  remarkable. 
A strip  of  land,  rarely  exceeding  twenty  leagues  in  width,  runs 
along  the  coast,  and  is  hemmed  in  through  its  whole  extent  by 
a colossal  range  of  mountains,  which,  advancing  from  the 
Straits  of  Magellan,  reaches  its  highest  elevation — indeed,  the 
highest  on  the  American  continent — about  the  seventeenth  de- 
gree south,2  and,  after  crossing  the  line,  gradually  subsides  into 
hills  of  inconsiderable  magnitude,  as  it  enters  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama.  This  is  the  famous  Cordillera  of  the  Andes,  or  “ cop- 
per mountains,”  3 as  termed  by  the  natives,  though  they  might 
with  more  reason  have  been  called  “mountains  of  gold.” 
Arranged  sometimes  in  a single  line,  though  more  frequently 
in  two  or  three  lines  running  parallel  or  obliquely  to  each 
other,  they  seem  to  the  voyager  on  the  ocean  but  one  contin- 
uous chain ; while  the  huge  volcanoes,  which  to  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  table-land  look  like  solitary  and  independent 
masses,  appear  to  him  only  like  so  many  peaks  of  the  same  vast 
and  magnificent  range.  So  immense  is  the  scale  on  which 
Nature  works  in  these  regions  that  it  is  only  when  viewed  from 

1 Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  65. — Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica  del  Peru  (Anvers,  1554), 
cap.  41. — Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  Commentaries  Reales  (Lisboa,  1609),  Parte  1,  lib.  1,  cap.  8. 
— According  to  the  last  authority,  the  empire,  in  its  greatest  breadth,  did  not  exceed  one 
hundred  and  twenty  leagues.  But  Garcilasso’s  geography  will  not  bear  criticism. 

2 According  to  Malte-Brun,  it  is  under  the  equator  that  we  meet  with  the  loftiest  sum- 
mits of  this  chain.  (Universal  Geography,  Eng.  trans.,  book  86.)  But  more  recent  meas- 
urements have  shown  this  to  be  between  fifteen  and  seventeen  degrees  south,  where  the 
Nevado  de  Sorata  rises  to  the  enormous  height  of  25,250  feet,  and  the  Illimani  to  24,300. 

8 At  least,  the  word  anta,  which  has  been  thought  to  furnish  the  etymology  of  Andes , in 
the  Peruvian  tongue,  signified  “ copper.”  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  5,  cap.  14. 


chap,  i.]  PHYSICAL  ASPECT  OF  THE  COUNTRY. 


29 


a great  distance  that  the  spectator  can  in  any  degree  compre- 
hend the  relation  of  the  several  parts  to  the  stupendous  whole. 
Few  of  the  works  of  Nature,  indeed,  are  calculated  to  produce 
impressions  of  higher  sublimity  than  the  aspect  of  this  coast,  as 
it  is  gradually  unfolded  to  the  eye  of  the  mariner  sailing  on  the 
distant  waters  of  the  Pacific ; where  mountain  is  seen  to  rise 
above  mountain,  and  Chimborazo,  with  its  glorious  canopy  of 
snow,  glittering  far  above  the  clouds,  crowns  the  whole  as 
with  a celestial  diadem.4 * 

The  face  of  the  country  would  appear  to  be  peculiarly  un- 
favorable to  the  purposes  both  of  agriculture  and  of  inter- 
nal communication.  The  sandy  strip  along  the  coast,  where 
rain  rarely  falls,  is  fed  only  by  a few  scanty  streams,  that  fur- 
nish a remarkable  contrast  to  the  vast  volumes  of  water  which 
roll  down  the  eastern  sides  of  the  Cordilleras  into  the  Atlantic. 
The  precipitous  steeps  of  the  sierra,  with  its  splintered  sides  of 
porphyry  and  granite,  and  its  higher  regions  wrapped  in  snows 
that  never  melt  under  the  fierce  sun  of  the  equator,  unless  it 
be  from  the  desolating  action  of  its  own  volcanic  fires,  might 
seem  equally  unpropitious  to  the  labors  of  the  husbandman. 
And  all  communication  between  the  parts  of  the  long-extended 
territory  might  be  thought  to  be  precluded  by  the  savage  char- 
acter of  the  region,  broken  up  by  precipices,  furious  torrents, 
and  impassable  quebradas — those  hideous  rents  in  the  moun- 
tain-chain, whose  depths  the  eye  of  the  terrified  traveller, 
as  he  winds  along  his  aerial  pathway,  vainly  endeavors  to 
fathom.6  Yet  the  industry,  we  might  almost  say  the  genius, 
of  the  Indian  was  sufficient  to  overcome  all  these  impediments 
of  Nature. 

By  a judicious  system  of  canals  and  subterraneous  aque- 

4 Humboldt,  Vues  des  Cordill&res  et  Monumens  des  Peuples  indigenes  de  l’Amerique 
(Paris,  1810),  p.  106. — Malte-Brun,  book  88. — The  few  brief  sketches  which  M.  de  Hum- 
boldt has  given  of  the  scenery  of  the  Cordilleras,  showing  the  hand  of  a great  painter,  as 
well  as  of  a philosopher,  make  us  regret  the  more  that  he  has  not  given  the  results  of  his 

observations  in  this  interesting  region  as  minutely  as  he  has  done  in  respect  to  Mexico. 

6 “These  crevices  are  so  deep,”  says  M.  de  Humboldt,  with  his  usual  vivacity  of  illus- 
tration, “that  if  Vesuvius  or  the  Puy  de  Dome  were  seated  in  the  bottom  of  them,  they 
would  not  rise  above  the  level  of  the  ridges  of  the  neighboring  sierra.”  Vues  des  Cordil- 
Ures,  p.  9. 


30 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  I. 


ducts,  the  waste  places  on  the  coast  were  refreshed  by  copi- 
ous streams,  that  clothed  them  in  fertility  and  beauty.  Ter- 
races were  raised  upon  the  steep  sides  of  the  Cordillera ; and, 
as  the  different  elevations  had  the  effect  of  difference  of  lati- 
tude, they  exhibited  in  regular  gradation  every  variety  of  veg- 
etable form,  from  the  stimulated  growth  of  the  tropics  to  the 
temperate  products  of  a northern  clime ; while  flocks  of 
llamas — the  Peruvian  sheep — -wandered  with  their  shepherds 
over  the  broad,  snow-covered  wastes  on  the  crests  of  the  sierra, 
which  rose  beyond  the  limits  of  cultivation.  An  industrious 
population  settled  along  the  lofty  regions  of  the  plateaus,  and 
towns  and  hamlets,  clustering  amidst  orchards  and  wide- 
spreading  gardens,  seemed  suspended  in  the  air  far  above  the 
ordinary  elevation  of  the  clouds.6  Intercourse  was  main- 
tained between  these  numerous  settlements  by  means  of  the 
great  roads  which  traversed  the  mountain-passes  and  opened 
an  easy  communication  between  the  capital  and  the  remotest 
extremities  of  the  empire. 

The  source  of  this  civilization  is  traced  to  the  valley  of 
Cuzco,  the  central  region  of  Peru,  as  its  name  implies.7  The 
origin  of  the  Peruvian  empire,  like  the  origin  of  all  nations, 
except  the  very  few  which,  like  our  own,  have  had  the  good 
fortune  to  date  from  a civilized  period  and  people,  is  lost  in 
the  mists  of  fable,  which,  in  fact,  have  settled  as  darkly  round 
its  history  as  round  that  of  any  nation,  ancient  or  modern,  in 
the  Old  World.  According  to  the  tradition  most  familiar  to 
the  European  scholar,  the  time  was  when  the  ancient  races  of 
the  continent  were  all  plunged  in  deplorable  barbarism ; when 
they  worshipped  nearly  every  object  in  nature  indiscriminately, 
made  war  their  pastime,  and  feasted  on  the  flesh  of  their 
slaughtered  captives.  The  Sun,  the  great  luminary  and  parent 
of  mankind,  taking  compassion  on  their  degraded  condition, 
sent  two  of  his  children,  Manco  Capac  and  Mama  Oello 

* The  plains  of  Quito  are  at  the  height  of  between  nine  and  ten  thousand  feet  above  the 
sea.  (See  Condamine,  Journal  d’un  Voyage  a l’^lquateur  (Paris,  1751),  p.  48.)  Other 
valleys  or  plateaus  in  this  vast  group  of  mountains  reach  a still  higher  elevation. 

7 “ Cuzco , in  the  language  of  the  Incas,”  says  Garcilasso,  “ signifies  navel”  Com. 
Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  1,  cap.  18. 


CHAP,  i ] SOURCES  OF  PERUVIAN  CIVILIZATION 


3i 


Huaco,  to  gather  the  natives  into  communities  and  teach  them 
the  arts  of  civilized  life.  The  celestial  pair,  brother  and  sis- 
ter, husband  and  wife,  advanced  along  the  high  plains  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Lake  Titicaca  to  about  the  sixteenth  degree 
south.  They  bore  with  them  a golden  wedge,  and  were  di- 
rected to  take  up  their  residence  on  the  spot  where  the  sacred 
emblem  should  without  effort  sink  into  the  ground.  They 
proceeded  accordingly  but  a short  distance,  as  far  as  the  valley 
of  Cuzco,  the  spot  indicated  by  the  performance  of  the  mira- 
cle, since  there  the  wedge  speedily  sank  into  the  earth  and  dis- 
appeared forever.  Here  the  children  of  the  Sun  established 
their  residence,  and  soon  entered  upon  their  beneficent  mis- 
sion among  the  rude  inhabitants  of  the  country  ; Manco  Capac 
teaching  the  men  the  arts  of  agriculture,  and  Mama  Oello  8 in- 
itiating her  own  sex  in  the  mysteries  of  weaving  and  spinning. 
The  simple  people  lent  a willing  ear  to  the  messengers  of 
Heaven,  and,  gathering  together  in  considerable  numbers,  laid 
the  foundations  of  the  city  of  Cuzco.  The  same  wise  and  be- 
nevolent maxims  which  regulated  the  conduct  of  the  first 
Incas 9 descended  to  their  successors,  and  under  their  mild 
sceptre  a community  gradually  extended  itself  along  the  broad 
surface  of  the  table-land,  which  asserted  its  superiority  over 
the  surrounding  tribes.  Such  is  the  pleasing  picture  of  the 
origin  of  the  Peruvian  monarchy,  as  portrayed  by  Garcilasso 
de  la  Vega,  the  descendant  of  the  Incas,  and  through  him 
made  familiar  to  the  European  reader.10 

8 Mama , with  the  Peruvians,  signified  “ mother  ” (Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i, 

lib.  4,  cap.  x).  The  identity  of  this  term  with  that  used  by  Europeans  is  a curious  coinci- 
dence. It  is  scarcely  more  so,  however,  than  that  of  the  corresponding  word  papa , which 
with  the  ancient  Mexicans  denoted  a priest  of  high  rank ; reminding  us  of  the  papa, 
“pope,”  of  the  Italians.  With  both,  the  term  seems  to  embrace  in  its  most  comprehensive 
sense  the  paternal  relation,  in  which  it  is  more  familiarly  employed  by  most  of  the  nations 
of  Europe.  Nor  was  the  use  of  it  limited  to  modern  times,  being  applied  in  the  same  way 
both  by  Greeks  and  Romans  ; “ Hanna  says  Nausikaa,  addressing  her  father,  in  the 

simple  language  which  the  modern  versifiers  have  thought  too  simple  to  render  literally. 

9 Inca  signified  king  or  lord.  Capac  meant  great  or  powerful.  It  was  applied  to 
several  of  the  successors  of  Manco,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  epithet  Yupanqui,  signify- 
ing rich  in  all  virtues,  was  added  to  the  names  of  several  Incas.  (Cieza  de  Leon,  Cron* 
ica,  cap.  41. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  2,  cap.  17.)  The  good  qualities  com* 
memorated  by  the  cognomens  of  most  of  the  Peruvian  princes  afford  an  honorably 
though  not  altogether  unsuspicious,  tribute  to  the  excellence  of  their  characters. 

10  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  1,  cap.  9-16. 


32 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  l 


But  this  tradition  is  only  one  of  several  current  among  the 
Peruvian  Indians,  and  probably  not  the  one  most  generally  re- 
ceived. Another  legend  speaks  of  certain  white  and  bearded 
men,  who,  advancing  from  the  shores  of  Lake  Titicaca,  estab- 
lished an  ascendency  over  the  natives  and  imparted  to  them 
the  blessings  of  civilization.  It  may  remind  us  of  the  tradi- 
tion existing  among  the  Aztecs  in  respect  to  Quetzalcoatl,  the 
good  deity,  who,  with  a similar  garb  and  aspect  came  up  the 
great  plateau  from  the  east  on  a like  benevolent  mission  to  the 
natives.  The  analogy  is  the  more  remarkable  as  there  is  no 
trace  of  any  communication  with,  or  even  knowledge  of,  each 
other  to  be  found  in  the  two  nations.11 

The  date  usually  assigned  for  these  extraordinary  events  was 
about  four  hundred  years  before  the  coming  of  the  Spaniards, 
or  early  in  the  twelfth  century.13  But,  however  pleasing  to 
the  imagination,  and  however  popular,  the  legend  of  Manco 
Capac,  it  requires  but  little  reflection  to  show  its  improbability, 
even  when  divested  of  supernatural  accompaniments.  On  the 
shores  of  Lake  Titicaca  extensive  ruins  exist  at  the  present 
day,  which  the  Peruvians  themselves  acknowledge  to  be  of 
older  date  than  the  pretended  advent  of  the  Incas,  and  to  have 
furnished  them  with  the  models  of  their  architecture.13  The 


1 1 These  several  traditions,  all  of  a very  puerile  character,  are  to  be  found  in  Onde- 
gardo,  Relacion  Segunda,  MS. — Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  i— Cieza  de  Leon, 
Cronica,  cap.  105— Conquista  i Poblacion  del  Piru,  MS. — Declaracion  de  los  Presidente 
6 Oydores  de  la  Audiencia  Reale  del  Peru,  MS. —all  of  them  authorities  contemporary 
-with  the  Conquest.  The  story  of  the  bearded  white  men  finds  its  place  in  most  of  their 
legends. 

12  Some  writers  carry  back  the  date  five  hundred,  or  even  five  hundred  and  fifty,  years 
before  the  Spanish  invasion.  (Balboa,  Histoire  du  Perou,  chap.  i. — Velasco,  Histoire  du 
Royaume  de  Quito,  tom.  i.,  p.  81. — Ambo  auct.  ap.  Relations  et  Mdmoires  originaux  pour 
servir  & l’Histoire  de  la  Ddcouverte  de  l’Amdrique,  par  Ternaux-Compans  (Paris,  1840).) 
In  the  Report  of  the  Royal  Audience  of  Peru,  the  epoch  is  more  modestly  fixed  at  two 
hundred  years  before  the  Conquest.  Dec.  de  la  Aud.  Real.,  MS. 

18  “ Otras  cosas  ay  mas  que  dezir  deste  Tiaguanaco,  que  passo  por  no  detenerme  : con- 
cluyedo  que  yo  para  mi  tengo  esta  antigualla  por  la  mas  antigua  de  todo  el  Peru.  Y assi 
se  tiene  que  antes  q los  Ingas  reynassen  con  muchos  tiempos  estavan  hechos  algunos  edi- 
ficios  destos  : porque  yo  he  oydo  afirmar  a Indios,  que  los  Ingas  hizieron  los  edificios 
grandes  del  Cuzco  por  la  forma  que  vieron  tener  la  muralla  o pared  que  se  vee  en  este 
pueblo.”  (Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap.  105.)  See  also  Garcilasso  (Com.  Real.,  Parte  1, 
lib.  3,  cap.  1),  who  gives  an  account  of  these  remains,  on  the  authority  of  a Spanish  eccle- 
siastic, which  might  compare,  for  the  marvellous,  with  any  of  the  legends  of  his  order. 
Other  ruins  of  similar  traditional  antiquity  are  noticed  by  Herrera  (Historia  general  de  los 
Hechos  de  los  Castellanos  en  las  Islas  y Tierra  Firme  del  Mar  Oc^ano  (Madrid,  1730), 


chap.  I.]  SOURCES  OF  PERUVIAN  CIVILIZATION. 


33 


date  of  their  appearance,  indeed,  is  manifestly  irreconcilable 
with  their  subsequent  history.  No  account  assigns  to  the 
Inca  dynasty  more  than  thirteen  princes  before  the  Conquest. 
But  this  number  is  altogether  too  small  to  have  spread  over 
four  hundred  years,  and  would  not  carry  back  the  foundations 
of  the  monarchy,  on  any  probable  computation,  beyond  two 
centuries  and  a half — an  antiquity  not  incredible  in  itself,  and 
which,  it  may  be  remarked,  does  not  precede  by  more  than 
half  a century  the  alleged  foundation  of  the  capital  of  Mexico. 
The  fiction  of  Manco  Capac  and  his  sister-wife  was  devised,  no 
doubt,  at  a later  period,  to  gratify  the  vanity  of  the  Peruvian 
monarchs,  and  to  give  additional  sanction  to  their  authority 
by  deriving  it  from  a celestial  origin. 

We  may  reasonably  conclude  that  there  existed  in  the  coun- 
try a race  advanced  in  civilization  before  the  time  of  the  Incas ; 
and,  in  conformity  with  nearly  every  tradition,  we  may  derive 
this  race  from  the  neighborhood  of  Lake  Titicaca;14  a conclu- 
sion strongly  confirmed  by  the  imposing  architectural  remains 
which  still  endure,  after  the  lapse  of  so  many  years,  on  its  bor- 
ders. Who  this  race  were,  and  whence  they  came,  may  afford 
a tempting  theme  for  inquiry  to  the  speculative  antiquarian. 
But  it  is  a land  of  darkness  that  lies  far  beyond  the  domain  of 
history.16 

dec.  6,  lib.  6,  cap.  9).  McCulloh,  in  some  sensible  reflections  on  the  origin  of  the  Peruvian 
civilization,  adduces,  on  the  authority  of  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  the  famous  temple  of  Pa- 
chacamac,  not  far  from  Lima,  as  an  example  of  architecture  more  ancient  than  that  of  the 
Incas.  (Researches,  Philosophical  and  Antiquarian,  concerning  the  Aboriginal  History  of 
America  (Baltimore,  1829),  p.  405.)  This,  if  true,  would  do  much  to  confirm  the  views 
in  our  text.  But  McCulloh  is  led  into  an  error  by  his  blind  guide,  Rycaut,  the  translator 
of  Garcilasso,  for  the  latter  does  not  speak  of  the  temple  as  existing  before  the  time  of 
the  Incas,  but  before  the  time  when  the  country  was  conquered  by  the  Incas.  Com.  Real., 
Parte  1,  lib.  6,  cap.  30. 

14  Among  other  authorities  for  this  tradition,  see  Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  3,  4 — 
Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  5,  lib.  3,  cap.  6 — Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS. — Zarate,  His- 
toria  del  Descubrimiento  y de  la  Conquista  del  Peru,  lib.  1,  cap.  10,  ap.  Barcia,  Historia- 
dores  primitivos  de  las  Indias  occidentales  (Madrid,  1749),  tom.  3. — In  most,  not  all,  of  the 
traditions,  Manco  Capac  is  recognized  as  the  name  of  the  founder  of  the  Peruvian  mon- 
archy, though  his  history  and  character  are  related  with  sufficient  discrepancy. 

46  Mr.  Ranking, 

“ Who  can  deep  mysteries  unriddle 
As  easily  as  thread  a needle,” 

finds  it  “ highly  probable  that  the  first  Inca  of  Peru  was  a son  of  the  Grand  Khan  Kublai ! M 
(Historical  Researches  on  the  Conquest  of  Peru,  etc.,  by  the  Moguls  (London,  1827),  p. 


34  CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS.  [book  i 

The  same  mists  that  hang  round  the  origin  of  the  Incas  con- 
tinue to  settle  on  their  subsequent  annals ; and  so  imperfect 
were  the  records  employed  by  the  Peruvians,  and  so  confused 
and  contradictory  their  traditions,  that  the  historian  finds  no 
firm  footing  on  which  to  stand  till  within  a century  of  the 
Spanish  conquest.16  At  first,  the  progress  of  the  Peruvians 
seems  to  have  been  slow,  and  almost  imperceptible.  By  their 
wise  and  temperate  policy  they  gradually  won  over  the  neigh- 
boring tribes  to  their  dominion,  as  these  latter  became  more 
and  more  convinced  of  the  benefits  of  a just  and  well-regulated 
government.  As  they  grew  stronger,  they  were  enabled  to 
rely  more  directly  on  force ; but,  still  advancing  under  cover 
of  the  same  beneficent  pretexts  employed  by  their  predecessors, 
they  proclaimed  peace  and  civilization  at  the  point  of  the 
sword.  The  rude  nations  of  the  country,  without  any  princi- 
ple of  cohesion  among  themselves,  fell  one  after  another  before 
the  victorious  arm  of  the  Incas.  Yet  it  was  not  till  the  middle 
of  the  fifteenth  century  that  the  famous  Topa  Inca  Yupanqui, 
grandfather  of  the  monarch  who  occupied  the  throne  at  the 
coming  of  the  Spaniards,  led  his  armies  across  the  terrible 
desert  of  Atacama,  and,  penetrating  to  the  southern  region  of 
Chili,  fixed  the  permanent  boundary  of  his  dominions  at  the 
river  Maule.  His  son,  Huayna  Capac,  possessed  of  ambition 
and  military  talent  fully  equal  to  his  father’s,  marched  along  the 
Cordillera  toward  the  north,  and  pushing  his  conquests  across 


170.)  The  coincidences  are  curious,  though  we  shall  hardly  jump  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
adventurous  author.  Every  scholar  will  agree  with  Humboldt  in  the  wish  that  “ some 
learned  traveller  would  visit  the  borders  of  the  lake  of  Titicaca,  the  district  of  Callao,  and 
the  high  plains  of  Tiahuanaco,  the  theatre  of  the  ancient  American  civilization.”  (Vues  des 
Cordill&res,  p.  199.)  And  yet  the  architectural  monuments  of  the  aborigines,  hitherto 
brought  to  light,  have  furnished  few  materials  for  a bridge  of  communication  across  the 
dark  gulf  that  still  separates  the  Old  Word  from  the  New. 

16  A good  deal  within  a century,  to  say  truth.  Garcilasso  and  Sarmiento,  for  example, 
the  two  ancient  authorities  in  highest  repute,  have  scarcely  a point  of  contact  in  their  ac- 
counts of  the  earlier  Peruvian  princes  ; the  former  representing  the  sceptre  as  gliding  down 
in  peaceful  succession  from  hand  to  hand  through  an  unbroken  dynasty,  while  the  latter 
garnishes  his  tale  with  as  many  conspiracies,  depositions,  and  revolutions  as  belong  to  most 
barbarous  and,  unhappily,  most  civilized  communities.  When  to  these  two  are  added  the 
various  writers,  contemporary  and  of  the  succeeding  age,  who  have  treated  of  the  Peruvian 
annals,  we  shall  find  ourselves  in  such  a conflict  of  traditions  that  criticism  is  lost  in  con- 
jecture. Yet  this  uncertainty  as  to  historical  events  fortunately  does  not  extend  to  the  his- 
tory of  arts  and  institutions  which  were  in  existence  on  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards. 


chap,  i.]  EMPIRE  OF  THE  INC AS.  35 

the  equator,  added  the  powerful  kingdom  of  Quito  to  the  em- 
pire of  Peru. 17 

The  ancient  city  of  Cuzco,  meanwhile,  had  been  gradually 
advancing  in  wealth  and  population,  till  it  had  become  the 
worthy  metropolis  of  a great  and  flourishing  monarchy.  It 
stood  in  a beautiful  valley  on  an  elevated  region  of  the  plateau, 
which  among  the  Alps  would  have  been  buried  in  eternal 
snows,  but  which  within  the  tropics  enjoyed  a genial  and  salu- 
brious temperature.  Toward  the  north  it  was  defended  by  a 
lofty  eminence,  a spur  of  the  great  Cordillera ; and  the  city 
was  traversed  by  a river,  or  rather  a small  stream,  over  which 
bridges  of  timber,  covered  with  heavy  slabs  of  stone,  furnished 
an  easy  means  of  communication  with  the  opposite  banks.  The 
streets  were  long  and  narrow,  the  houses  low,  and  those  of  the 
poorer  sort  built  of  clay  and  reeds.  But  Cuzco  was  the  royal 
residence,  and  was  adorned  with  the  ample  dwellings  of  the 
great  nobility ; and  the  massy  fragments  still  incorporated  in 
many  of  the  modern  edifices  bear  testimony  to  the  size  and 
solidity  of  the  ancient.18 

The  health  of  the  city  was  promoted  by  spacious  openings 
and  squares,  in  which  a numerous  population  from  the  capb 
tal  and  the  distant  country  assembled  to  celebrate  the  high  fes- 
tivals of  their  religion.  For  Cuzco  was  the  “ Holy  City;  ” 19 
and  the  great  temple  of  the  Sun,  to  which  pilgrims  resorted 
from  the  farthest  borders  of  the  empire,  was  the  most  mag- 

17  Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  57,  64. — Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS. — Velasco,  Hist, 
de  Quito,  p.  59. — Dec.  de  la  Aud.  Real.,  MS. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  7, 
cap.  18,  19  ; lib.  8,  cap.  5-8.  The  last  historian,  and,  indeed,  some  others,  refer  the  con- 
quest of  Chili  to  Yupanqui,  the  father  of  Topa  Inca.  The  exploits  of  the  two  monarchs  are 
so  blended  together  by  the  different  annalists  as  in  a manner  to  confound  their  personal 
identity. 

18  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real,  Parte  1,  lib.  7,  cap  8-11. — Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap.  92. — 
“ El  Cuzco  tuuo  gran  manera  y calidad,  deuio  ser  fundada  por  gente  de  gran  ser.  Auia 
grandes  calles,  saluo  q era  angostas,  y las  casas  hechas  de  piedra  pura  co  tan  lindas  jun- 
turas,  q illustra  el  antiguedad  del  edificio,  pues  estauan  piedras  tan  grades  muy  bien  as- 
sentadas.”  (Ibid.,  ubi  supra.)  Compare  with  this  Miller’s  account  of  the  city  as  existing 
at  the  present  day  : “ The  walls  of  many  of  the  houses  have  remained  unaltered  for  cen- 
turies. The  great  size  of  the  stones,  the  variety  of  their  shapes,  and  the  inimitable  work- 
manship they  display,  give  to  the  city  that  interesting  air  of  antiquity  and  romance  which 
fills  the  mind  with  pleasing  though  painful  veneration.”  Memoirs  of  General  Miller  in  the 
Service  of  the  Republic  of  Peru  (London,  1829,  2d  ed.),  vol.  ii.,  p.  225. 

19  “La  Imperial  Ciudad  de  Cozco,  que  la  adoravan  los  Indios,  como  d Casa  Sagrada.” 
Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib,  3,  cap.  20. — Also  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. 


36  CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS.  [book  t 

nificent  structure  in  the  New  World,  and  unsurpassed,  prob- 
ably, in  the  costliness  of  its  decorations  by  any  building  in  the 
Old. 

Toward  the  north,  on  the  sierra  or  rugged  eminence  already 
noticed,  rose  a strong  fortress,  the  remains  of  which  at  the  pres- 
ent day,  by  their  vast  size,  excite  the  admiration  of  the  trav- 
eller.20 It  was  defended  by  a single  wall  of  great  thickness, 
and  twelve  hundred  feet  long  on  the  side  facing  the  city,  where 
the  precipitous  character  of  the  ground  was  of  itself  almost  suf- 
ficient for  its  defence.  On  the  other  quarter,  where  the  ap- 
proaches were  less  difficult,  it  was  protected  by  two  other 
semicircular  walls  of  the  same  length  as  the  preceding.  They 
were  separated  a considerable  distance  from  one  another  and 
from  the  fortress ; and  the  intervening  ground  was  raised  so 
that  the  walls  afforded  a breastwork  for  the  troops  stationed 
there  in  times  of  assault.  The  fortress  consisted  of  three  towers, 
detached  from  one  another.  One  was  appropriated  to  the  Inca, 
and  was  garnished  with  the  sumptuous  decorations  befitting  a 
royal  residence  rather  than  a military  post.  The  other  two 
were  held  by  the  garrison,  drawn  from  the  Peruvian  nobles, 
and  commanded  by  an  officer  of  the  blood  royal ; for  the  posi- 
tion was  of  too  great  importance  to  be  intrusted  to  inferior 
hands.  The  hill  was  excavated  below  the  towers,  and  several 
subterraneous  galleries  communicated  with  the  city  and  the 
palaces  of  the  Inca.81 

The  fortress,  the  walls,  and  the  galleries  were  all  built  of 
stone,  the  heavy  blocks  of  which  were  not  laid  in  regular 
courses,  but  so  disposed  that  the  small  ones  might  fill  up  the 
interstices  between  the  great.  They  formed  a sort  of  rustic 
work,  being  rough  hewn  except  toward  the  edges,  which  were 


30  See,  among  others,  the  Memoirs,  above  Cited,  of  Gen.  Miller,  which  contain  a minute 
and  very  interesting  notice  of  modern  Cuzco.  (Vol.  ii.  p.  223  et  seq.)  Ulloa,  who  visited 
the  country  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  is  unbounded  in  his  expressions  of  admiration. 
Voyage  to  South  America,  Eng.  trans.  (London,  1806),  book  vii.,  chap.  12. 

31  Betanzos,  Suma  y Narracion  de  los  Yngas,  MS.,  cap.  12.— Garcilasso,  Com.  Real., 
Parte  1,  lib.  7,  cap.  27-29. — The  demolition  of  the  fortress,  begun  immediately  after  the 
Conquest,  provoked  the  remonstrance  of  more  than  one  enlightened  Spaniard,  whose  voice, 
however,  was  impotent  against  the  spirit  of  cupidity  and  violence.  See  Sarmiento,  Rela* 
eion,  MS.,  cap.  48. 


CHAP.  I.] 


EMPIRE  OF  THE  INCAS. 


37 


finely  wrought ; and,  though  no  cement  was  used,  the  several 
blocks  were  adjusted  with  so  much  exactness  and  united  so 
closely  that  it  was  impossible  to  introduce  even  the  blade  of  a 
knife  between  them.22  Many  of  these  stones  were  of  vast  size; 
some  of  them  being  full  thirty-eight  feet  long,  by  eighteen 
broad,  and  six  feet  thick.23 

We  are  filled  with  astonishment  when  we  consider  that 
these  enormous  masses  were  hewn  from  their  native  bed  and 
fashioned  into  shape  by  a people  ignorant  of  the  use  of  iron  ; 
that  they  were  brought  from  quarries,  from  four  to  fifteen 
leagues  distant,24  without  the  aid  of  beasts  of  burden  ; were 
transported  across  rivers  and  ravines,  raised  to  their  elevated 
position  on  the  sierra,  and  finally  adjusted  there  with  the 
nicest  accuracy,  without  the  knowledge  of  tools  and  machin- 
ery familiar  to  the  European.  Twenty  thousand  men  are 
said  to  have  been  employed  on  this  great  structure,  and  fifty 
years  consumed  in  the  building.25  However  this  may  be,  we 
see  in  it  the  workings  of  a despotism  which  had  the  lives  and 
fortunes  of  its  vassals  at  its  absolute  disposal,  and  which,  how- 
ever mild  in  its  general  character,  esteemed  these  vassals,  when 
employed  in  its  service,  as  lightly  as  the  brute  animals  for 
which  they  served  as  a substitute. 

The  fortress  of  Cuzco  was  but  part  of  a system  of  fortifi- 
cations established  throughout  their  dominions  by  the  Incas. 
This  system  formed  a prominent  feature  in  their  military 

22  Ibid.,  ubi  supra. — Inscripciones,  Medallas,  Templos,  Edificios,  Antigiiedades,  y Monu- 
mentos  del  Peru,  MS.  This  manuscript,  which  formerly  belonged  to  Dr.  Robertson,  and 
which  is  now  in  the  British  Museum,  is  the  work  of  some  unknown  author,  somewhere 
probably  about  the  time  of  Charles  III. — a period  when,  as  the  sagacious  scholar  to  whom 
I am  indebted  for  a copy  of  it  remarks,  a spirit  of  sounder  criticism  was  visible  in  the  Cas- 
tilian historians. 

23  Acosta,  Naturall  and  Morall  Historic  of  the  East  and  West  Indies,  Eng.  trans.  (Lon- 
don, 1604),  lib.  6,  cap.  14. — He  measured  the  stones  himself. — See  also  Garcilasso,  Com. 
Real.,  loc.  cit. 

24  Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap.  93. — Ondegardo,  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. — Many  hundred 
blocks  of  granite  may  still  be  seen,  it  is  said,  in  an  unfinished  state,  in  a quarry  near 
Cuzco. 

25  Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  48. — Ondegardo,  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. — Garcilasso,  Com. 
Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  7,  cap.  27,  28. — The  Spaniards,  puzzled  by  the  execution  of  so  great 
a work  with  such  apparently  inadequate  means,  referred  it  all,  in  their  summary  way,  to 
the  Devil ; an  opinion  which  Garcilasso  seems  willing  to  indorse.  The  author  of  the  An- 
tig.  y Monumentos  del  Peru,  MS.,  rejects  this  notion  with  becoming  gravity. 


38 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  I. 


policy  ; but  before  entering  on  this  latter  it  will  be  proper 
to  give  the  reader  some  view  of  their  civil  institutions  and 
scheme  of  government. 

The  sceptre  of  the  Incas,  if  we  may  credit  their  historian, 
descended  in  unbroken  succession  from  father  to  son,  through 
their  whole  dynasty.  Whatever  we  may  think  of  this,  it  ap- 
pears probable  that  the  right  of  inheritance  might  be  claimed 
by  the  eldest  son  of  the  Coya,  or  lawful  queen,  as  she  was 
styled,  to  distinguish  her  from  the  host  of  concubines  who 
shared  the  affections  of  the  sovereign.28  The  queen  was  fur- 
ther distinguished,  at  least  in  later  reigns,  by  the  circumstance 
of  being  selected  from  the  sisters  of  the  Inca,  an  arrangement 
which,  however  revolting  to  the  ideas  of  civilized  nations,  was 
recommended  to  the  Peruvians  by  its  securing  an  heir  to  the 
crown  of  the  pure  heaven-born  race,  uncontaminated  by  any 
mixture  of  earthly  mould.27 

In  his  early  years,  the  royal  offspring  was  intrusted  to  the 
care  of  the  amautas , or  “ wise  men,”  as  the  teachers  of  Peru- 
vian science  were  called,  who  instructed  him  in  such  elements 
of  knowledge  as  they  possessed,  and  especially  in  the  cum- 
brous ceremonial  of  their  religion,  in  which  he  was  to  take 
a prominent  part.  Great  care  was  also  bestowed  on  his  mili- 
tary education,  of  the  last  importance  in  a state  which,  with 
its  professions  of  peace  and  good  will,  was  ever  at  war  for  the 
acquisition  of  empire. 

In  this  military  school  he  was  educated  with  such  of  the 
Inca  nobles  as  were  nearly  of  his  own  age ; for  the  sacred 
name  of  Inca — a fruitful  source  of  obscurity  in  their  annals — 
was  applied  indifferently  to  all  who  descended  by  the  male 
line  from  the  founder  of  the  monarchy.28  At  the  age  of  six- 

26  Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  7. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  1,  cap.  26. — 
Acosta  speaks  of  the  eldest  brother  of  the  Inca  as  succeeding  in  preference  to  the  son  (lib. 
6,  cap.  12).  He  may  have  confounded  the  Peruvian  with  the  Aztec  usage.  The  Report 
of  the  Royal  Audience  states  that  a brother  succeeded  in  default  of  a son.  Dec.  de  la 
Aud.  Real.,  MS. 

27  “ Et  soror  et  conjux .”  According  to  Garcilasso,  the  heir-apparent  always  married 
a sister.  (Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  4,  cap.  9.)  Ondegardo  notices  this  as  an  innovation 
at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century.  (Relacion  Primera,  MS.)  The  historian  of  the  Incas, 
however,  is  confirmed  in  his  extraordinary  statement  by  Sarmiento.  Relacion,  MS., 
cap.  7. 

28  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  1,  cap.  26. 


CHAP.  I.J 


ROYAL  FAMILY. 


39 


teen  the  pupils  underwent  a public  examination,  previous  to 
their  admission  to  what  may  be  called  the  order  of  chivalry. 
This  examination  was  conducted  by  some  of  the  oldest  and 
most  illustrious  Incas.  The  candidates  were  required  to  show 
their  prowess  in  the  athletic  exercises  of  the  warrior;  in  wrest- 
ling and  boxing,  in  running  such  long  courses  as  fully  tried 
their  agility  and  strength,  in  severe  fasts  of  several  days’  dura- 
tion, and  in  mimic  combats,  which,  although  the  weapons 
were  blunted,  were  always  attended  with  wounds,  and  some- 
times with  death.  During  this  trial,  which  lasted  thirty  days, 
the  royal  neophyte  fared  no  better  than  his  comrades,  sleeping 
on  the  bare  ground,  going  unshod,  and  wearing  a mean  attire 
— a mode  of  life,  it  was  supposed,  which  might  tend  to  inspire 
him  with  more  sympathy  with  the  destitute.  With  all  this 
show  of  impartiality,  however,  it  will  probably  be  doing  no 
injustice  to  the  judges  to  suppose  that  a politic  discretion  may 
have  somewhat  quickened  their  perceptions  of  the  real  merits 
of  the  heir-apparent. 

At  the  end  of  the  appointed  time,  the  candidates  selected 
as  worthy  of  the  honors  of  their  barbaric  chivalry  were  pre- 
sented to  the  sovereign,  who  condescended  to  take  a principal 
part  in  the  ceremony  of  inauguration.  He  began  with  a brief 
discourse,  in  which,  after  congratulating  the  young  aspirants 
on  the  proficiency  they  had  shown  in  martial  exercises,  he 
reminded  them  of  the  responsibilities  attached  to  their  birth 
and  station,  and,  addressing  them  affectionately  as  “ children 
of  the  Sun,”  he  exhorted  them  to  imitate  their  great  pro- 
genitor in  his  glorious  career  of  beneficence  to  mankind.  The 
novices  then  drew  near,  and,  kneeling  one  by  one  before  the 
Inca,  he  pierced  their  ears  with  a golden  bodkin  ; and  this 
was  suffered  to  remain  there  till  an  opening  had  been  made 
large  enough  for  the  enormous  pendants  which  were  peculiar 
to  their  order,  and  which  gave  them,  with  the  Spaniards,  the 
name  of  orejones .a9  This  ornament  was  so  massy  in  the  ears 

29  From  oreja , “ ear.” — “ Los  Caballeros  de  la  sangre  Real  tenian  orejas  horadadas,  y 
de  ellas  colgando  grandes  rodetes  de  plata  y oro  : llamaronles  por  esto  los  orejones  los 
Castellanos  la  primera  vez  quelos  vieron.”  (Montesinos,  Memorias  antiguas  historiales  del 
Peru,  MS.,  lib.  2,  cap.  6.)  The  ornament,  which  was  in  the  form  of  a wheel,  did  not  de- 


40 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS . 


[BOOK  & 


of  the  sovereign  that  the  cartilage  was  distended  by  it  nearly 
to  the  shoulder,  producing  what  seemed  a monstrous  deformity 
in  the  eyes  of  the  Europeans,  though,  under  the  magical  in- 
fluence of  fashion,  it  was  regarded  as  a beauty  by  the  natives. 

When  this  operation  was  performed,  one  of  the  most  vener- 
able of  the  nobles  dressed  the  feet  of  the  candidates  in  the 
sandals  worn  by  the  order,  which  may  remind  us  of  the  cere- 
mony of  buckling  on  the  spurs  of  the  Christian  knight.  They 
were  then  allowed  to  assume  the  girdle  or  sash  around  the 
loins,  corresponding  with  the  toga  virilis  of  the  Romans,  and 
intimating  that  they  had  reached  the  season  of  manhood. 
Their  heads  were  adorned  with  garlands  of  flowers,  which, 
by  their  various  colors,  were  emblematic  of  the  clemency 
and  goodness  that  should  grace  the  character  of  every  true 
warrior  ; and  the  leaves  of  an  evergreen  plant  were  mingled 
with  the  flowers,  to  show  that  these  virtues  should  endure 
without  end.30  The  prince’s  head  was  further  ornamented  by 
a fillet,  or  tasselled  fringe,  of  a yellow  color,  made  of  the  fine 
threads  of  the  vicuna  wool,  which  encircled  the  forehead  as 
the  peculiar  insignia  of  the  heir-apparent.  The  great  body 
of  the  Inca  nobility  next  made  their  appearance,  and,  begin- 
ning with  those  nearest  of  kin,  knelt  down  before  the  prince 
and  did  him  homage  as  successor  to  the  crown.  The  whole 
assembly  then  moved  to  the  great  square  of  the  capital,  where 
songs  and  dances  and  other  public  festivities  closed  the  im- 
portant ceremonial  of  the  huaracu .3l 

The  reader  will  be  less  surprised  by  the  resemblance  which 
this  ceremonial  bears  to  the  inauguration  of  a Christian  knight 
in  the  feudal  ages,  if  he  reflects  that  a similar  analogy  may  be 
traced  in  the  institutions  of  other  people  more  or  less  civilized, 

pend  from  the  ear,  but  was  inserted  in  the  gristle  of  it,  and  was  as  large  as  an  orange. 
“ La  hacen  tan  ancha  como  una  gran  rosea  de  naranja ; los  Senores  i Principales  traian 
aquellas  roscas  de  oro  fino  en  las  orejas.”  (Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS. — Also  Garcilasso, 
Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  cap.  22.)  “The  larger  the  hole,”  says  one  of  the  old  Conquerors, 
“the  more  of  a gentleman  ! ” Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 

30  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  6,  cap.  27. 

31  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  t,  lib.  6,  cap.  24-28. — According  to  Fernandez,  the  can- 
didates wore  white  shirts,  with  something  like  a cross  embroidered  in  front ! (Historia  del 
Peru  (Sevilla,  1571),  Parte  2,  lib.  3,  cap.  6.)  We  may  fancy  ourselves  occupied  with  some 
chivalrous  ceremonial  of  the  Middle  Ages. 


CHAP.  I.J 


ROYAL  FAMILY. 


41 


and  that  it  is  natural  that  nations  occupied  with  the  one  great 
business  of  war  should  mark  the  period  when  the  preparatory 
education  for  it  was  ended,  by  similar  characteristic  cere- 
monies. 

Having  thus  honorably  passed  through  his  ordeal,  the  heir- 
apparent  was  deemed  worthy  to  sit  in  the  councils  of  his  father, 
and  was  employed  in  offices  of  trust  at  home,  or,  more  usually, 
sent  on  distant  expeditions  to  practise  in  the  field  the  lessons 
which  he  had  hitherto  studied  only  on  the  mimic  theatre  of 
war.  His  first  campaigns  were  conducted  under  the  renowned 
commanders  who  had  grown  gray  in  the  service  of  his  father, 
until,  advancing  in  years  and  experience,  he  was  placed  in 
command  himself,  and,  like  Huayna  Capac,  the  last  and  most 
illustrious  of  his  line,  carried  the  banner  of  the  rainbow,  the 
armorial  ensign  of  his  house,  far  over  the  borders,  among  the 
remotest  tribes  of  the  plateau. 

The  government  of  Peru  was  a despotism,  mild  in  its  char- 
acter, but  in  its  form  a pure  and  unmitigated  despotism.  The 
sovereign  was  placed  at  an  immeasurable  distance  above  his 
subjects.  Even  the  proudest  of  the  Inca  nobility,  claiming  a 
descent  from  the  same  divine  original  as  himself,  could  not 
venture  into  the  royal  presence,  unless  barefoot,  and  bearing  a 
light  burden  on  his  shoulders  in  token  of  homage.82  As  the 
representative  of  the  Sun,  he  stood  at  the  head  of  the  priest- 
hood, and  presided  at  the  most  important  of  the  religious  festi- 
vals.38 He  raised  armies,  and  usually  commanded  them  in 
person.  He  imposed  taxes,  made  laws,  and  provided  for  their 

32  Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  lib.  i,  cap.  n. — Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  7. — “Porque 
verdaderamente  a lo  que  yo  he  averiguado  toda  la  pretension  de  los  Ingas  fue  una  sub- 
jeccion  en  toda  la  gente,  qual  yo  nunca  he  oido  decir  de  ninguna  otra  nacion  en  tanto 
grado,  que  por  muy  principal  que  un  Senor  fuese,  dende  que  entrava  cerca  del  Cuzco  en 
cierta  senal  que  estava  puesta  en  cada  camino  de  quatro  que  hay,  havia  dende  alii  de 
venir  cargado  hasta  la  presencia  del  Inga,  y alii  dejava  la  carga  y hacia  su  obediencia.’* 
Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS. 

33  It  was  only  at  one  of  these  festivals,  and  hardly  authorizes  the  sweeping  assertion  of 
Carli  that  the  royal  and  sacerdotal  authority  were  blended  together  in  Peru.  We  shall 
see,  hereafter,  the  important  and  independent  position  occupied  by  the  high-priest.  “ Le 
Sacerdoce  et  I’Empire  etoient  divises  au  Mexique  ; au  lieu  qu’ils  etoient  reunis  au  Perou, 
comme  au  Tibet  et  & la  Chine,  et  comme  il  le  fut  & Rome,  lorsqu*  Auguste  jeta  les  fonde- 
mens  de  I’Empire,  en  y reunissant  le  Sacerdoce  ou  la  dignite  de  Souverain  Pontife»” 
Lettres  Americaines  (Paris,  1788),  trad.  Frang.,  tom.  i.,  let.  7. 


42 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  L 


execution  by  the  appointment  of  judges,  whom  he  removed  at 
pleasure.  He  was  the  source  from  which  everything  flowed — - 
all  dignity,  all  power,  all  emolument.  He  was,  in  short,  in 
the  well-known  phrase  of  the  European  despot,  “ himself  the 
state.”  34 

The  Inca  asserted  his  claims  as  a superior  being  by  assuming 
a pomp  in  his  manner  of  living  well  calculated  to  impose  on 
his  people.  His  dress  was  of  the  finest  wool  of  the  vicufia, 
richly  dyed,  and  ornamented  with  a profusion  of  gold  and 
precious  stones.  Round  his  head  was  wreathed  *a  turban  of 
many-colored  folds,  called  the  llautu,  with  a tasselled  fringe, 
like  that  worn  by  the  prince,  but  of  a scarlet  color,  while  two 
feathers  of  a rare  and  curious  bird,  called  the  coraquenque , 
placed  upright  in  it,  were  the  distinguishing  insignia  of  roy- 
alty. The  birds  from  which  these  feathers  were  obtained  were 
found  in  a desert  country  among  the  mountains ; and  it  was 
death  to  destroy  or  to  take  them,  as  they  were  reserved  for  the 
exclusive  purpose  of  supplying  the  royal  head-gear.  Every 
succeeding  monarch  was  provided  with  a new  pair  of  these 
plumes,  and  his  credulous  subjects  fondly  believed  that  only 
two  individuals  of  the  species  had  ever  existed  to  furnish  the 
simple  ornament  for  the  diadem  of  the  Incas.35 

Although  the  Peruvian  monarch  was  raised  so  far  above  the 
highest  of  his  subjects,  he  condescended  to  mingle  occasionally 
with  them,  and  took  great  pains  personally  to  inspect  the  con- 
dition of  the  humbler  classes.  He  presided  at  some  of  the 
religious  celebrations,  and  on  these  occasions  entertained  the 
great  nobles  at  his  table,  when  he  complimented  them,  after 
the  fashion  of  more  civilized  nations,  by  drinking  the  health 
of  those  whom  he  most  delighted  to  honor.36 

34  “ Porque  el  Inga  dava  A entender  que  era  hijo  del  Sol,  con  este  titulo  se  hacia  adorar, 
i governava  principalmente  en  tanto  grado  que  nadie  se  le  atrevia,  i su  palabra  era  ley,  i 
nadie  osaba  ir  contra  su  palabra  ni  voluntad  ; aunque  obiese  de  matar  cient  mill  Indios, 
no  havia  ninguno  en  su  Reino  que  le  osase  decir  que  no  lo  hiciese.”  Conq.  i Pob.  del 
Piru,  MS. 

3*  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  i,  cap.  22  ; lib.  6,  cap.  28. — Cieza  de  Leon, 
Cronica,  cap.  114. — Acosta,  lib.  6,  cap.  12. 

86  One  would  hardly  expect  to  find  among  the  American  Indians  this  social  and  kindly 
custom  of  our  Saxon  ancestors — now  fallen  somewhat  out  of  use,  in  the  capricious  inno- 
vations of  modern  fashion.  Garcilasso  is  diffuse  in  his  account  of  the  forms  observed  at 


CHAP.  I.] 


ROYAL  FAMILY, 


43 


But  ihe  most  effectual  means  taken  by  the  Incas  for  com- 
municating with  their  people  were  their  progresses  through  the 
empire.  These  were  conducted,  at  intervals  of  several  years, 
with  great  state  and  magnificence.  The  sedan,  or  litter,  in 
which  they  travelled,  richly  emblazoned  with  gold  and  emer- 
alds, was  guarded  by  a numerous  escort.  The  men  who  bore 
it  on  their  shoulders  were  provided  by  two  cities,  specially  ap- 
pointed for  the  purpose.  It  was  a post  to  be  coveted  by  no 
one,  if,  as  is  asserted,  a fall  was  punished  with  death.87  They 
travelled  with  ease  and  expedition,  halting  at  the  tambos , or 
inns,  erected  by  government  along  the  route,  and  occasionally 
at  the  royal  palaces,  which  in  the  great  towns  afforded  ample 
accommodations  to  the  whole  of  the  monarch’s  retinue.  The 
noble  roads  which  traversed  the  table-land  were  lined  with 
people,  who  swept  away  the  stones  and  stubble  from  their  sur- 
face, strewing  them  with  sweet-scented  flowers,  and  vying  with 
each  other  in  carrying  forward  the  baggage  from  one  village 
to  another.  The  monarch  halted  from  time  to  time  to  listen 
to  the  grievances  of  his  subjects,  or  to  settle  some  points  which 
had  been  referred  to  his  decision  by  the  regular  tribunals.  As 
the  princely  train  wound  its  way  along  the  mountain -passes, 
every  place  was  thronged  with  spectators  eager  to  catch  a 
glimpse  of  their  sovereign  ; and  when  he  raised  the  curtains  of 
his  litter  and  showed  himself  to  their  eyes,  the  air  was  rent 
with  acclamations  as  they  invoked  blessings  on  his  head.38 

the  royal  table.  (Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  6,  cap.  23.)  The  only  hours  of  eating  were  at 
eight  or  nine  in  the  morning,  and  at  sunset,  which  took  place  at  nearly  the  same  time,  in 
all  seasons,  in  the  latitude  of  Cuzco.  The  historian  of  the  Incas  admits  that,  though  tem- 
perate in  eating,  they  indulged  freely  in  their  cups,  frequently  prolonging  their  revelry  to  a 
late  hour  of  the  night.  Ibid.,  Parte  1,  lib.  6,  cap.  1. 

37  “ In  lectica,  aureo  tabulato  constrata  humeris  ferebant  ; in  summa,  ea  erat  observantia, 
vt  vultum  ejus  intueri  maxime  incivile  putarent,  et  inter  baiulos,  quicunque  vel  leviter  pede 
offenso  haesitaret,  e vestigio  interficerent.”  Levin  us  Apollonius,  De  Peruviae  Regionis 
Inventione,  et  Rebus  in  eadem  gestis  (Antverpiae,  1567),  fol.  37. — Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru, 
lib.  1,  cap.  11. — According  to  this  writer,  the  litter  was  carried  by  the  nobles  ; one  thousand 
©f  whom  were  specially  reserved  for  the  humiliating  honor.  Ubi  supra. 

38  The  acclamations  must  have  been  potent  indeed,  if,  as  Sarmiento  tells  us,  they  some- 
times brought  the  birds  down  from  the  sky  ! " De  esta  manera  eran  tan  temidos  los  Reyes 
que  si  salian  por  el  Reyno  y permitian  alzar  algun  pano  de  los  que  iban  en  las  andas  para 
dejarse  ver  de'sus  vasallos,  alzaban  tan  gran  alarido  que  hacian  caer  las  aves  de  lo  alto 
donde  iban  volando  d ser  tomadas  d manos.”  (Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  10.)  The  same 
author  has  given  in  another  place  a more  credible  account  of  the  royal  progresses,  which 
the  Spanish  reoder  will  find  extracted  in  Appendix  No.  1. 


44 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  I. 


Tradition  long  commemorated  the  spots  at  which  he  halted, 
and  the  simple  people  of  the  country  held  them  in  reverence 
as  places  consecrated  by  the  presence  of  an  Inca.39 

The  royal  palaces  were  on  a magnificent  scale,  and,  far 
from  being  confined  to  the  capital  or  a few  principal  towns, 
were  scattered  over  all  the  provinces  of  their  vast  empire.40 
The  buildings  were  low,  but  covered  a wide  extent  of  ground. 
Some  of  the  apartments  were  spacious,  but  they  were  generally 
small,  and  had  no  communication  with  one  another,  except 
that  they  opened  into  a common  square  or  court.  The  walls 
were  made  of  blocks  of  stone  of  various  sizes,  like  those  de- 
scribed in  the  fortress  of  Cuzco,  rough-hewn,  but  carefully 
wrought  near  the  line  of  junction,  which  was  scarcely  visible 
to  the  eye.  The  roofs  were  of  wood  or  rushes,  which  have 
perished  under  the  rude  touch  of  time,  that  has  shown  more 
respect  for  the  walls  of  the  edifices.  The  whole  seems  to  have 
been  characterized  by  solidity  and  strength,  rather  than  by 
any  attempt  at  architectural  elegance.41 

But  whatever  want  of  elegance  there  may  have  been  in  the 
exterior  of  the  imperial  dwellings,  it  was  amply  compensated 
by  the  interior,  in  which  all  the  opulence  of  the  Peruvian 
princes  was  ostentatiously  displayed.  The  sides  of  the  apart- 
ments were  thickly  studded  with  gold  and  silver  ornaments. 
Niches,  prepared  in  the  walls,  were  filled  with  images  of  ani- 
mals and  plants  curiously  wrought  of  the  same  costly  materials ; 
and  even  much  of  the  domestic  furniture,  including  the  uten- 
sils devoted  to  the  most  ordinary  menial  services,  displayed  the 
like  wanton  magnificence  ! 48  With  these  gorgeous  decorations 

39  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  3,  cap.  14;  lib.  6,  cap.  3.— Zarate,  Conq.  del 
Peru,  lib.  1,  cap.  ii. 

40  Velasco  has  given  some  account  of  several  of  these  palaces  situated  in  different  places 
in  the  kingdom  of  Quito.  Hist,  de  Quito,  tom.  i.,  pp.  195-197. 

41  Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap.  44. — Antig.  y Monumentos  de  Peru,  MS. — See,  among 
others,  the  description  of  the  remains  still  existing  of  the  royal  buildings  at  Callo,  about  ten 
leagues  south  of  Quito,  by  Ulloa,  Voyage  to  South  America,  book  6,  ch.  11,  and  since, 
more  carefully,  by  Humboldt,  Vues  des  Cordilleres,  p.  197. 

43  Garcilasso,  Com.,  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  6,  cap.  1. — “ Tanto  que  todo  el  servicio  de  la 
Casa  del  Rey  asi  de  cantaras  para  su  vino,  como  de  cozina,  todo  era  oro  y plata,  y esto  no 
«n  un  lugar  y en  una  parte  lo  tenia,  sino  en  muchas.”  (Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap. 
ii.)  See  also  the  flaming  accounts  of  the  palaces  of  Bilcas,  to  the  west  of  Cuzco,  by  Cieza 
de  Leon,  as  reported  to  him  by  Spaniards  who  had  seen  them  in  their  glory.  (Cronica, 


CHAP.  I.] 


ROYAL  FAMILY. 


45 


were  mingled  richly-colored  stuffs  of  the  delicate  manufacture 
of  the  Peruvian  wool,  which  were  of  so  beautiful  a texture  that 
the  Spanish  sovereigns,  with  all  the  luxuries  of  Europe  and 
Asia  at  their  command,  did  not  disdain  to  use  them.43  The 
royal  household  consisted  of  a throng  of  menials,  supplied  by 
the  neighboring  towns  and  villages,  which,  as  in  Mexico, 
were  bound  to  furnish  the  monarch  with  fuel  and  other  neces- 
saries for  the  consumption  of  the  palace. 

But  the  favorite  residence  of  the  Incas  was  at  Yucay,  about 
four  leagues  distant  from  the  capital.  In  this  delicious  valley, 
locked  up  within  the  friendly  arms  of  the  sierra,  which  shel- 
tered it  from  the  rude  breezes  of  the  east,  and  refreshed  by 
gushing  fountains  and  streams  of  running  water,  they  built  the 
most  beautiful  of  their  palaces.  Here,  when  wearied  with  the 
dust  and  toil  of  the  city,  they  loved  to  retreat,  and  solace 
themselves  with  the  society  of  their  favorite  concubines,  wan- 
dering amidst  groves  and  airy  gardens,  that  shed  around  their 
soft,  intoxicating  odors  and  lulled  the  senses  to  voluptuous 
repose.  Here,  too,  they  loved  to  indulge  in  the  luxury  of 
their  baths,  replenished  by  streams  of  crystal  water  which  were 
conducted  through  subterraneous  silver  channels  into  basins  of 
gold.  The  spacious  gardens  were  stocked  with  numerous  vari- 
eties of  plants  and  flowers  that  grew  without  effort  in  this  tem- 
perate region  of  the  tropics,  while  parterres  of  a more  extraor- 
dinary kind  were  planted  by  their  side,  glowing  with  the 
various  forms  of  vegetable  life  skilfully  imitated  in  gold  and 
silver  ! Among  them  the  Indian  corn,  the  most  beautiful  of 
American  grains,  is  particularly  commemorated,  and  the  cu- 
rious workmanship  is  noticed  with  which  the  golden  ear  was 
half  disclosed  amidst  the  broad  leaves  of  silver,  and  the  light 
tassel  of  the  same  material  that  floated  gracefully  from  its  top.44 

cap.  89.)  The  niches  are  still  described  by  modern  travellers  as  to  be  found  in  the  walls. 
(Humboldt,  Vues  des  Cordilleres,  p.  197.) 

43  “La  ropa  de  la  cama  toda  era  de  mantas,  y fregadas  de  lana  de  Vicuna,  que  es  tan 
fina,  y tan  regalada,  que  entre  otras  cosas  preciadas  de  aquellas  Tierras,  se  las  han  traido 
para  la  cama  del  Rey  Don  Phelipe  Segundo.”  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  6, 
cap.  1. 

44  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  5,  cap.  26;  lib.  6,  cap.  2. — Sarmiento,  Relacion, 
MS.,  cap.  24. — Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap.  94. — The  last  writer  speaks  of  a cement, 
made  in  part  of  liquid  gold,  as  used  in  the  royal  buildings  of  Tambo,  a valley  not  far  from 


46 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  I. 


If  this  dazzling  picture  staggers  the  faith  of  the  reader,  he 
may  reflect  that  the  Peruvian  mountains  teemed  with  gold ; 
that  the  natives  understood  the  art  of  working  the  mines,  to  a 
considerable  extent;  that  none  of  the  ore,  as  we  shall  see 
hereafter,  was  converted  into  coin,  and  that  the  whole  of  it 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  sovereign  for  his  own  exclusive 
benefit,  whether  for  purposes  of  utility  or  ornament.  Certain  it 
is  that  no  fact  is  better  attested  by  the  Conquerors  themselves, 
who  had  ample  means  of  information,  and  no  motive  for  mis- 
statement. The  Italian  poets,  in  their  gorgeous  pictures  of  the 
gardens  of  Alcina  and  Morgana,  came  nearer  the  truth  than 
they  imagined. 

Our  surprise,  however,  may  reasonably  be  excited  when  we 
consider  that  the  wealth  displayed  by  the  Peruvian  princes  was 
only  that  which  each  had  amassed  individually  for  himself. 
He  owed  nothing  to  inheritance  from  his  predecessors.  On 
the  decease  of  an  Inca,  his  palaces  were  abandoned ; all  his 
treasures,  except  what  were  employed  in  his  obsequies,  his  fur- 
niture and  apparel,  were  suffered  to  remain  as  he  left  them, 
and  his  mansions,  save  one,  were  closed  up  forever.  The  new 
sovereign  was  to  provide  himself  with  everything  new  for  his 
royal  state.  The  reason  of  this  was  the  popular  belief  that  the 
soul  of  the  departed  monarch  would  return  after  a time  to  re- 
animate his  body  on  earth ; and  they  wished  that  he  should 
find  everything  to  which  he  had  been  used  in  life  prepared  for 
his  reception.46 

When  an  Inca  died,  or,  to  use  his  own  language,  “ was  called 
home  to  the  mansions  of  his  father,  the  Sun,”  46  his  obsequies 
were  celebrated  with  great  pomp  and  solemnity.  The  bowels 
were  taken  from  the  body  and  deposited  in  the  temple  of  Tam- 
pu,  about  five  leagues  from  the  capital.  A quantity  of  his 
plate  and  jewels  was  buried  with  them,  and  a number  of  his 
attendants  and  favored  concubines,  amounting  sometimes,  it 

Yucay  ! (Ubi  supra.)  We  may  excuse  the  Spaniards  for  demolishing  such  edifices — if 
they  ever  met  with  them. 

46  Acosta,  lib.  6,  cap.  12. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  6,  cap.  4. 

49  The  Aztecs,  also,  believed  that  the  soul  of  the  warrior  who  fell  in  battle  went  to  ac- 
company the  Sun  in  his  bright  progress  through  the  heavens.  (See  Conquest  of  Mexico, 
book  1,  chap.  3.) 


CHAP.  I.] 


ROYAL  FAMILY. 


47 


is  said,  to  a thousand,  were  immolated  on  his  tomb.47  Some 
of  them  showed  the  natural  repugnance  to  the  sacrifice  occa- 
sionally manifested  by  the  victims  of  a similar  superstition  in 
India.  But  these  were  probably  the  menials  and  more  humble 
attendants ; since  the  women  have  been  known,  in  more  than 
one  instance,  to  lay  violent  hands  on  themselves,  when 
restrained  from  testifying  their  fidelity  by  this  act  of  conjugal 
martyrdom.  This  melancholy  ceremony  was  followed  by  a 
general  mourning  throughout  the  empire.  At  stated  intervals, 
for  a year,  the  people  assembled  to  renew  the  expressions  of 
their  sorrow  ; processions  were  made,  displaying  the  banner  of 
the  departed  monarch ; bards  and  minstrels  were  appointed  to 
chronicle  his  achievements,  and  their  songs  continued  to  be 
rehearsed  at  high  festivals  in  the  presence  of  the  reigning  mon- 
arch— thus  stimulating  the  living  by  the  glorious  example  of 
the  dead.48 

The  body  of  the  deceased  Inca  was  skilfully  embalmed,  and 
removed  to  the  great  temple  of  the  Sun  at  Cuzco.  There  the 
Peruvian  sovereign,  on  entering  the  awful  sanctuary,  might 
behold  the  effigies  of  his  royal  ancestors,  ranged  in  opposite 
files — the  men  on  the  right,  and  their  queens  on  the  left  of  the 
great  luminary  which  blazed  in  refulgent  gold  on  the  walls  of 
the  temple.  The  bodies,  clothed  in  the  princely  attire  which 
they  had  been  accustomed  to  wear,  were  placed  on  chairs  of 
gold  with  their  heads  inclined  downward,  their  hands  placidly 
crossed  over  their  bosoms,  their  countenances  exhibiting  their 
natural  dusky  hue — less  liable  to  change  than  the  fresher  col- 
oring of  a European  complexion — and  their  hair  of  raven 
black,  or  silvered  over  with  age,  according  to  the  period  at 
which  they  died  ! It  seemed  like  a company  of  solemn  wor- 
shippers fixed  in  devotion — so  true  were  the  forms  and  linea- 
ments to  life.  The  Peruvians  were  as  successful  as  the  Egyp- 


47  Conq.  i Pob.  del  Pirn  MS. — Acosta,  lib.  5,  cap.  6. — Four  thousand  of  these  victims, 
according  to  Sarmiento — we  may  hope  it  is  an  exaggeration — graced  the  funeral  ob- 
sequies of  Huayna  Capac,  the  last  of  the  Incas  before  the  coming  of  the  Spaniards.  Re« 
htcion,  MS.,  cap.  65. 

48  Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap.  62. — Gareilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  z,  lib.  6,  cap.  s»— * 
Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  8. 


48 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  l 


tians  in  the  miserable  attempt  to  perpetuate  the  existence  of  the 
body  beyond  the  limits  assigned  to  it  by  nature.49 

They  cherished  a still  stranger  illusion  in  the  attentions 
which  they  continued  to  pay  to  these  insensible  remains,  as  if 
they  were  instinct  with  life.  One  of  the  houses  belonging  to 
a deceased  Inca  was  kept  open  and  occupied  by  his  guard  and 
attendants,  with  all  the  state  appropriate  to  royalty.  On 
certain  festivals,  the  revered  bodies  of  the  sovereigns  were 
brought  out  with  great  ceremony  into  the  public  square  of  the 
capital.  Invitations  were  sent  by  the  captains  of  the  guard  of 
the  respective  Incas  to  the  different  nobles  and  officers  of  the 
court ; and  entertainments  were  provided  in  the  names  of  their 
masters,  which  displayed  all  the  profuse  magnificence  of  their 
treasures — and  “such  a display,”  says  an  ancient  chronicler, 
“ was  there  in  the  great  square  of  Cuzco,  on  this  occasion,  of 
gold  and  silver  plate  and  jewels,  as  no  other  city  in  the  world 
ever  witnessed.”  60  The  banquet  was  served  by  the  menials 
of  the  respective  households,  and  the  guests  partook  of  the 
melancholy  cheer  in  the  presence  of  the  royal  phantom  with 
the  same  attention  to  the  forms  of  courtly  etiquette  as  if  the 
living  monarch  had  presided  ! 61 


49  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  5,  cap.  29. — The 
Peruvians  secreted  these  mummies  of  their  sovereigns  after  the  Conquest,  that  they  might 
not  be  profaned  by  the  insults  of  the  Spaniards.  Ondegardo,  when  corregidor  of  Cuzco, 
discovered  five  of  them,  three  male  and  two  female.  The  former  were  the  bodies  of  Vira- 
cocha,  of  the  great  Tupac  Inca  Yupanqui,  and  of  his  son  Huayna  Capac.  Garcilasso 
saw  them  in  1560.  They  were  dressed  in  their  regal  robes,  with  no  insignia  but  the  llautu 
on  their  heads.  They  were  in  a sitting  posture,  and,  to  use  his  own  expression,  “ perfect  as 
life,  without  so  much  as  a hair  or  an  eyebrow  wanting.”  As  they  were  carried  through  the 
streets,  decently  shrouded  with  a mantle,  the  Indians  threw  themselves  on  their  knees,  in 
sign  of  reverence,  with  many  tears  and  groans,  and  were  still  more  touched  as  they  beheld 
some  of  the  Spaniards  themselves  doffing  their  caps  in  token  of  respect  to  departed  royalty. 
(Ibid.,  ubi  supra.)  The  bodies  were  subsequently  removed  to  Lima  ; and  Father  Acosta, 
who  saw  them  there  some  twenty  years  later,  speaks  of  them  as  still  in  perfect  preserva^ 
tion. 

60  “ Tenemos  por  muy  cierto  que  ni  en  Jerusalem,  Roma,  ni  en  Persia,  ni  en  ninguna 
parte  del  mundo  por  ninguna  Republica  ni  Rey  de  el,  se  juntaba  en  un  lugar  tanta  riqueza 
de  Metales  de  Oro  y Plata  y Pedreria  como  en  esta  Plaza  del  Cuzco  ; quando  estas  fiestas 
y otras  semejantes  se  hacian.”  Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  27. 

61  Idem,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  8,  27. — Ondegardo,  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. — It  was  only,  how- 

ever, the  great  and  good  princes  that  were  thus  honored,  according  to  Sarmiento,  “ whose 
souls  the  silly  people  fondly  believed,  on  account  of  their  virtues,  were  in  heaven,  although,  in 
truth,”  as  the  same  writer  assures  us,  “ they  were  all  the  time  burning  in  the  flames  of 
hell ! ” “ Digo  los  que  haviendo  sido  en  vida  buenos  y valerosos,  generosos  con  los  Indios 


CHAP.  I.] 


NOBILITY. 


49 


The  nobility  of  Peru  consisted  of  two  orders,  the  first  and 
by  far  the  most  important  of  which  was  that  of  the  Incas,  who 
boasting  a common  descent  with  their  sovereign,  lived,  as  it 
were,  in  the  reflected  light  of  his  glory.  As  the  Peruvian, 
monarchs  availed  themselves  of  the  right  of  polygamy  to  a very 
liberal  extent,  leaving  behind  them  families  of  one  or  even 
two  hundred  children,62  the  nobles  of  the  blood  royal,  though 
comprehending  only  their  descendants  in  the  male  line,  came 
in  the  course  of  years  to  be  very  numerous.63  They  were  di- 
vided into  different  lineages,  each  of  which  traced  its  pedigree 
to  a different  member  of  the  royal  dynasty,  though  all  termi- 
nated in  the  divine  founder  of  the  empire. 

They  were  distinguished  by  many  exclusive  and  very  im- 
portant privileges  ; they  wore  a peculiar  dress,  spoke  a dialect, 
if  we  may  believe  the  chronicler,  peculiar  to  themselves,64  and 
had  the  choicest  portion  of  the  public  domain  assigned  for  their 
support.  They  lived,  most  of  them,  at  court,  near  the  person 
of  the  prince,  sharing  in  his  counsels,  dining  at  his  board,  or 
supplied  from  his  table.  They  alone  were  admissible  to  the 
great  offices  in  the  priesthood.  They  were  invested  with  the 
command  of  armies  and  of  distant  garrisons,  were  placed  over 
the  provinces,  and,  in  short,  filled  every  station  of  high  trust 
and  emolument.65  Even  the  laws,  severe  in  their  general  tenor, 

en  les  hacer  mercedes,  perdonadores  de  injurias  porque  £ estos  tales  canonizaban  en  su 
ceguedad  por  Santos  y honrraban  sus  huesos,  sin  entender  que  las  animas  ardian  en  los 
Ynfiernos  y creian  que  estaban  en  el  Cielo.”  Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 

52  Garcilasso  says  over  three  hundred  ! (Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  3,  cap.  19.)  The  fact, 
though  rather  startling,  is  not  incredible,  if,  like  Huayna  Capac,  they  counted  seven  hun- 
dred wives  in  their  seraglio.  See  Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  7. 

83  Garcilasso  mentions  a class  of  Incas  por  privilegio,  who  were  allowed  to  possess  the 
name  and  many  of  the  immunities  of  the  blood  royal,  though  only  descended  from  the  great 
vassals  that  first  served  under  the  banner  of  Manco  Capac.  (Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  1, 
cap.  22.)  This  important  fact,  to  which  he  often  refers,  one  would  be  glad  to  see  confirmed 
by  a single  authority. 

64  “ Los  Incas  tuvieron  otra  Lengua  particular,  que  hablavan  entre  ellos,  que  no  la  en- 
tendian  los  demas  Indios,  ni  les  era  licito  aprenderla,  como  Lenguage  Divino.  Esta  me 
escriven  del  Peru,  que  se  ha  perdido  totalmente  ; porque  como  perecio  la  Republica  par- 
ticular de  los  Incas,  perecio  tambien  el  Lenguage  dellos.”  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte 
1,  lib.  7,  cap.  i. 

65  “ Una  sola  gente  hallo  yo  que  era  exenta,  que  eran  los  Ingas  del  Cuzco  y por  alii  al 
rededor  de  ambas  parcialidades,  porque  estos  no  solo  no  pagavan  tributo,  pero  aun  comian 
de  lo  que  traian  al  Inga  de  todo  el  reino,  y estos  eran  por  la  mayor  parte  los  Govemadores 
en  todo  el  reino,  y por  donde  quiera  que  iban  se  les  hacia  mucha  honrra.”  Ondegardo, 
Rel.  Prim.,  MS. 


50 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  i. 


seem  not  to  have  been  framed  with  reference  to  them  ? and 
the  people,  investing  the  whole  order  with  a portion  of  the 
sacred  character  which  belonged  to  the  sovereign,  held  that  an 
Inca  noble  was  incapable  of  crime.66 

The  other  order  of  nobility  was  the  Curacas , the  caciques 
of  the  conquered  nations,  or  their  descendants.  They  were 
usually  continued  by  the  government  in  their  places,  though 
they  were  required  to  visit  the  capital  occasionally,  and  to  al- 
low their  sons  to  be  educated  there  as  the  pledges  of  their  loy- 
alty. It  is  not  easy  to  define  the  nature  or  extent  of  their 
privileges.  They  were  possessed  of  more  or  less  power,  accord- 
ing to  the  extent  of  their  patrimony  and  the  number  of  their 
vassals.  Their  authority  was  usually  transmitted  from  father 
to  son,  though  sometimes  the  successor  was  chosen  by  the 
people.57  They  did  not  occupy  the  highest  posts  of  state,  or 
those  nearest  the  person  of  the  sovereign,  like  the  nobles  of  the 
blood.  Their  authority  seems  to  have  been  usually  local,  and 
always  in  subordination  to  the  territorial  jurisdiction  of  the 
great  provincial  governors,  who  were  taken  from  the  Incas. 68 

It  was  the  Inca  nobility,  indeed,  who  constituted  the  real 
strength  of  the  Peruvian  monarchy.  Attached  to  their  prince 
by  ties  of  consanguinity,  they  had  common  sympathies  and,  to 
a considerable  extent,  common  interests  with  him.  Distin- 
guished by  a peculiar  dress  and  insignia,  as  well  as  by  language 
and  blood,  from  the  rest  of  the  community,  they  were  never 
confounded  with  the  other  tribes  and  nations  who  were  incor- 
porated into  the  great  Peruvian  monarchy.  After  the  lapse  of 
centuries  they  still  retained  their  individuality  as  a peculiar 
people.  They  were  to  the  conquered  races  of  the  country  what 
the  Romans  were  to  the  barbarous  hordes  of  the  Empire,  or  the 


88  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  2,  cap.  15. 

67  In  this  event,  it  seems,  the  successor  named  was  usually  presented  to  the  Inca  for  con- 
firmatioh.  (Dec.  de  la  Aud.  Real.,  MS.)  At  other  times  the  Inca  himself  selected  the 
heir  from  among  the  children  of  the  deceased  Curaca.  “ In  short,”  says  Ondegardo,  “ there 
was  no  rule  of  succession  so  sure,  but  it  might  be  set  aside  by  the  supreme  will  of  the  sov- 
ereign.” Rel.  Prim.,  MS. 

68  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  4,  cap.  10. — Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap. 
11.— Dec.  de  la  Aud.  Real.,  MS.— Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap.  93. — Conq.  i Ibb.  del 
Piru,  MS. 


CHAP.  II.  1 


ORDERS  OF  THE  STATE . 


51 


Normans  to  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  British  Isles.  Clus- 
tering around  the  throne,  they  formed  an  invincible  phalanx  to 
shield  it  alike  from  secret  conspiracy  and  open  insurrection. 
Though  living  chiefly  in  the  capital,  they  were  also  distributed 
throughout  the  country  in  all  its  high  stations  and  strong  mili- 
tary posts,  thus  establishing  lines  of  communication  with  the 
court,  which  enabled  the  sovereign  to  act  simultaneously  and 
with  effect  on  the  most  distant  quarters  of  his  empire.  They 
possessed,  moreover,  an  intellectual  pre-eminence,  which,  no 
less  than  their  station,  gave  them  authority  with  the  people. 
Indeed,  it  may  be  said  to  have  been  the  principal  foundation 
of  their  authority.  The  crania  of  the  Inca  race  show  a decided 
superiority  over  the  other  races  of  the  land  in  intellectual 
power  ;69  and  it  cannot  be  denied  that  it  was  the  fountain  of 
that  peculiar  civilization  and  social  polity  which  raised  the  Pe- 
ruvian monarchy  above  every  other  state  in  South  America. 
Whence  this  remarkable  race  came,  and  what  was  its  early  his- 
tory, are  among  those  mysteries  that  meet  us  so  frequently  in 
the  annals  of  the  New  World,  and  which  time  and  the  anti- 
quary have  as  yet  done  little  to  explain. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Orders  of  the  State. — Provisions  for  Justice. — Division  of  Lands. — Reve- 
nues and  Registers. — Great  Roads  and  Posts. — Military  Tactics  and 
Policy. 

If  we  are  surprised  at  the  peculiar  and  original  features  of 
what  may  be  called  the  Peruvian  aristocracy,  we  shall  be  still 
more  so  as  we  descend  to  the  lower  orders  of  the  community 
and  see  the  very  artificial  character  of  their  institutions — as 
artificial  as  those  of  ancient  Sparta,  and,  though  in  a different 
way,  quite  as  repugnant  to  the  essential  principles  of  our  nature. 

69  Dr.  Morton’s  valuable  work  contains  several  engravings  of  both  the  Inca  and  the  com- 
mon Peruvian  skull,  showing  that  the  facial  angle  in  the  former,  though  by  no  means  great, 
was  much  larger  than  that  in  the  latter,  which  was  singularly  flat  and  deficient  in  intel- 
lectual character.  Crania  Americana  (Philadelphia,  1839). 

Peru  3 


Vol.  1 


52 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  I. 


The  institutions  of  Lycurgus,  however,  were  designed  for  a 
petty  state,  while  those  of  Peru,  although  originally  intended 
for  such,  seemed,  like  the  magic  tent  in  the  Arabian  tale,  to 
have  an  indefinite  power  of  expansion,  and  were  as  well  suited 
to  the  most  flourishing  condition  of  the  empire  as  to  its  infant 
fortunes.  In  this  remarkable  accommodation  to  change  of  cir- 
cumstances we  see  the  proofs  of  a contrivance  that  argues  no 
slight  advance  in  civilization. 

The  name  of  Peru  was  not  known  to  the  natives.  It  was 
given  by  the  Spaniards,  and  originated,  it  is  said,  in  a misap- 
prehension of  the  Indian  name  of  “river.”1  However  this 
may  be,  it  is  certain  that  the  natives  had  no  other  epithet  by 
which  to  designate  the  large  collection  of  tribes  and  nations 
who  were  assembled  under  the  sceptre  of  the  Incas,  than  that 
of  Tavantinsuyu , or  “ four  quarters  of  the  world.”  2 This  will 
not  surprise  a citizen  of  the  United  States,  who  has  no  other 
name  by  which  to  class  himself  among  nations  than  what  is 
borrowed  from  a quarter  of  the  globe.3  The  kingdom,  con- 
formably to  its  name,  was  divided  into  four  parts,  distinguished 
each  by  a separate  title,  and  to  each  of  which  ran  one  of  the 
four  great  roads  that  diverged  from  Cuzco,  the  capital  or  navel 
of  the  Peruvian  monarchy.  The  city  was  in  like  manner  di- 
vided into  four  quarters  ; and  the  various  races  which  gathered 
there  from  the  distant  parts  of  the  empire  lived  each  in  the 
quarter  nearest  to  its  respective  province.  They  all  continued 
to  wear  their  peculiar  national  costume,  so  that  it  was  easy  to 
determine  their  origin  ; and  the  same  order  and  system  of  ar- 
rangement prevailed  in  the  motley  population  of  the  capital  as 

1 Pelu,  according  to  Garcilasso,  was  the  Indian  name  for  “ river,”  and  was  given  by  one 
of  the  natives  in  answer  to  a question  put  to  him  by  the  Spaniards,  who  conceived  it  to  be 
the  name  of  the  country.  (Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  i,  cap.  6.)  Such  blunders  have  led 
to  the  names  of  many  places  both  in  North  and  South  America.  Montesinos,  however, 
denies  that  there  is  such  an  Indian  term  for  “ river.”  (Mem.  antiguas,  MS.,  lib,  i,  cap. 
a.)  According  to  this  writer,  Peru  was  the  ancient  Ophir.  whence  Solomon  drew  such 
stores  of  wealth,  and  which,  by  a very  natural  transition,  has  in  time  been  corrupted  into 
Phiru , Piru , Peru  / The  first  book  of  the  Memorias,  consisting  of  thirty-two  chapters,  is 
devoted  to  this  precious  discovery. 

a Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  *,  cap.  ix. 

8 Yet  an  American  may  find  food  for  his  vanity  in  the  reflection  that  the  name  of  a 
quarter  of  the  globe,  inhabited  by  so  many  civilised  nations,  has  been  exclusively  conceded 
So  him.— Was  it  conceded  or  assumed  % 


CHAP.  H.]  PROVISIONS  FOR  JUSTICE.  53 

in  the  great  provinces  of  the  empire.  The  capital,  in  fact,  was 
a miniature  image  of  the  empire.4 

The  four  great  provinces  were  each  placed  under  a viceroy  or 
governor,  who  ruled  over  them  with  the  assistance  of  one  or 
more  councils  for  the  different  departments.  These  viceroys 
resided,  some  portion  of  their  time,  at  least,  in  the  capital, 
where  they  constituted  a sort  of  council  of  state  to  the  Inca.6 
The  nation  at  large  was  distributed  into  decades,  or  small 
bodies  of  ten  ; and  every  tenth  man,  or  head  of  a decade,  had 
supervision  of  the  rest- — being  required  to  see  that  they  enjoyed 
the  rights  and  immunities  to  which  they  were  entitled,  to  so- 
licit aid  in  their  behalf  from  government,  when  necessary,  and 
to  bring  offenders  to  justice.  To  this  last  they  were  stimu- 
lated by  a law  that  imposed  on  them,  in  case  of  neglect,  the 
same  penalty  that  would  have  been  incurred  by  the  guilty  party. 
With  this  law  hanging  over  his  head,  the  magistrate  of  Peru, 
we  may  well  believe,  did  not  often  go  to  sleep  on  his  post.® 

The  people  were  still  further  divided  into  bodies  of  fifty,  one 
hundred,  five  hundred,  and  a thousand,  each  with  an  officer 
having  general  supervision  over  those  beneath,  and  the  higher 
ones  possessing,  to  a certain  extent,  authority  in  matters  of 
police.  Lastly,  the  whole  empire  was  distributed  into  sections 
or  departments  of  ten  thousand  inhabitants,  with  a governor 
over  each,  from  the  Inca  nobility,  who  had  control  over  the 
curacas  and  other  territorial  officers  in  the  district.  There 
were,  also,  regular  tribunals  of  justice,  consisting  of  magistrates 
in  each  of  the  towns  or  small  communities,  with  jurisdiction 
over  petty  offences,  while  those  of  a graver  character  were  car- 
ried before  superior  judges,  usually  the  governors  or  rulers  of 

4 Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  x,  lib.  2,  cap.  9,  10.— Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap,  93. — 
The  capital  was  further  divided  into  two  parts,  the  Upper  and  Lower  town,  founded,  as 
pretended,  on  the  different  origin  of  the  population ; a division  recognized  also  in  the  in- 
ferior cities.  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. 

6 Dec.  de  la  Aud.  Real.,  MS. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  2,  cap.  15. — For 
this  account  of  the  councils  I am  indebted  to  Garcilasso,  who  frequently  fills  up  gaps  that 
have  been  left  by  his  fellow-laborers.  Whether  the  filling  up  will,  in  all  cases,  bear  the 
touch  of  time  as  well  as  the  rest  of  his  work,  one  may  doubt. 

e Dec.  de  la  Aud.  Real.,  MS. — Montesinos,  Mem.  antiguas,  MS.,  lib.  2,  cap.  6. — Onde- 
gardo, Rel.  Prim.,  MS. — How  analogous  is  the  Peruvian  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  division  into 
hundreds  and  tithings  ! But  the  Saxon  law  which  imposed  only  a fine  on  the  district  In 
case  of  a criminal’s  escape  was  more  humane. 


54 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[book  I. 


the  districts.  These  judges  all  held  their  authority  and  re- 
ceived their  support  from  the  crown,  by  which  they  were  ap- 
pointed and  removed  at  pleasure.  They  were  obliged  to 
determine  every  suit  in  five  days  from  the  time  it  was  brought 
before  them ; and  there  was  no  appeal  from  one  tribunal  to 
another.  Yet  there  were  important  provisions  for  the  security 
of  justice.  A committee  of  visitors  patrolled  the  kingdom  at 
certain  times  to  investigate  the  character  and  conduct  of  the 
magistrates  ; and  any  neglect  or  violation  of  duty  was  punished 
in  the  most  exemplary  manner.  The  inferior  courts  were  also 
required  to  make  monthly  returns  of  their  proceedings  to  the 
higher  ones,  and  these  made  reports  in  like  manner  to  the 
viceroys  : so  that  the  monarch,  seated  in  the  centre  of  his  do- 
minions, could  look  abroad,  as  it  were,  to  their  most  distant 
extremities,  and  review  and  rectify  any  abuses  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  law.7 

The  laws  were  few  and  exceedingly  severe.  They  related 
almost  wholly  to  criminal  matters.  Few  other  laws  were 
needed  by  a people  who  had  no  money,  little  trade,  and  hardly 
anything  that  could  be  called  fixed  property.  The  crimes  of 
theft,  adultery,  and  murder  were  all  capital ; though  it  was 
wisely  provided  that  some  extenuating  circumstances  might  be 
allowed  to  mitigate  the  punishment.8  Blasphemy  against  the 
Sun,  and  malediction  of  the  Inca — offences,  indeed,  of  the 
same  complexion — were  also  punished  with  death.  Removing 
landmarks,  turning  the  water  away  from  a neighbor’s  land  into 
one’s  own,  burning  a house,  were  all  severely  punished.  To 
burn  a bridge  was  death.  The  Inca  allowed  no  obstacle  to 
those  facilities  of  communication  so  essential  to  the  mainte- 
nance of  public  order.  A rebellious  city  or  province  was  laid 

7 Dec.  de  la  Aud.  Real.,  MS. — Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim,  et  Seg.,  MSS.— Garcilasso, 
Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  2,  cap.  ix-i4.—Montesinos,  Mem.  antiguas,  MS.,  lib.  2,  cap.  6. 
The  accounts  of  the  Peruvian  tribunals  by  the  early  authorities  are  very  meagre  and  un- 
satisfactory. Even  the  lively  imagination  of  Garcilasso  has  failed  to  supply  the  blank. 

8 Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS. — Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  5,  lib.  4,  cap.  3.— Theft 
was  punished  less  severely  if  the  offender  had  been  really  guilty  of  it  to  supply  the  necessi- 
ties of  life.  It  is  a singular  circumstance  that  the  Peruvian  law  made  no  distinction  be- 
tween fornication  and  adultery,  both  being  equally  punished  with  death.  Yet  the  law 
could  hardly  have  been  enforced,  since  prostitutes  were  assigned,  or  at  least  allowed,  a 
residence  in  the  suburbs  of  the  cities.  See  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  4,  cap,  34. 


chap,  ii.]  PROVISIONS  FOR  JUSTICE.  55 

waste,  and  its  inhabitants  exterminated.  Rebellion  against  the 
“ Child  of  the  Sun  ” was  the  greatest  of  all  crimes.9 

The  simplicity  and  severity  of  the  Peruvian  code  may  be 
thought  to  infer  a state  of  society  but  little  advanced,  which 
had  few  of  those  complex  interests  and  relations  that  grow  up 
in  a civilized  community,  and  which  had  not  proceeded  far 
enough  in  the  science  of  legislation  to  economize  human  suffer- 
ing by  proportioning  penalties  to  crimes.  But  the  Peruvian 
institutions  must  be  regarded  from  a different  point  of  view 
from  that  in  which  we  study  those  of  other  nations.  The  laws 
emanated  from  the  sovereign,  and  that  sovereign  held  a divine 
commission  and  was  possessed  of  a divine  nature.  To  violate 
the  law  was  not  only  to  insult  the  majesty  of  the  throne,  but  it 
was  sacrilege.  The  slightest  offence,  viewed  in  this  light, 
merited  death ; and  the  gravest  could  incur  no  heavier  pen- 
alty.10 Yet  in  the  infliction  of  their  punishments  they  showed 
no  unnecessary  cruelty  ; and  the  sufferings  of  the  victim  were 
not  prolonged  by  the  ingenious  torments  so  frequent  among 
barbarous  nations.11 

These  legislative  provisions  may  strike  us  as  very  defective, 
even  as  compared  with  those  of  the  semi -civilized  races  of 
Anahuac,  where  a gradation  of  courts,  moreover,  with  the 
right  of  appeal,  afforded  a tolerable  security  for  justice.  But 
in  a country  like  Peru,  where  few  but  criminal  causes  were 
known,  the  right  of  appeal  was  of  less  consequence.  The  law 
was  simple,  its  application  easy ; and,  where  the  judge  was 
honest,  the  case  was  as  likely  to  be  determined  correctly  on 
the  first  hearing  as  on  the  second.  The  inspection  of  the  board 

9 Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  23. — “I  los  traidores entre  ellos  llamava  aucaes,  i esta 
palabra  es  la  mas  abiltada  de  todas  quantas  pueden  decir  aun  Indio  del  Piru,  que  quiere 
decir  traidor  a su  Senor.”  (Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS.)  ‘‘En  las  rebeliones  y alzamientos 
se  hicieron  los  castigos  tan  asperos,  que  algunas  veces  asolaron  las  provincias  de  todos  los 
varones  de  edad  sin  quedar  ninguno.”  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS. 

10  “ El  castigo  era  riguroso,  que  por  la  mayor  parte  era  de  muerte,  por  livlano  que  fuese 
el  delito  ; porque  decian,  que  no  los  castigavan  por  el  delito  que  avian  hecho,  ni  por  la 
ofensa  agena,  sino  por  aver  quebrantado  el  mandamiento,  y rompido  la  palabra  del  Inca, 
que  lo  respetavan  como  a Dios.”  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  2,  cap.  12. 

41  One  of  the  punishments  most  frequent  for  minor  offences  was  to  carry  a stone  on  the 
back.  A punishment  attended  with  no  suffering  but  what  arises  from  the  disgrace  attached 
to  it  is  very  justly  characterized  by  McCulloh  as  a proof  of  sensibility  and  refinement 
Researches,  p.  361. 


56 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  l 


of  visitors,  and  the  monthly  returns  of  the  tribunals,  afforded 
no  slight  guarantee  for  their  integrity.  The  law  which  re- 
quired a decision  within  five  days  would  seem  little  suited  to 
the  complex  and  embarrassing  litigation  of  a modern  tribunal. 
But,  in  the  simple  questions  submitted  to  the  Peruvian  judge, 
delay  would  have  been  useless;  and  the  Spaniards,  familiar 
with  the  evils  growing  out  of  long-protracted  suits,  where  the 
successful  litigant  is  too  often  a ruined  man,  are  loud  in  their 
encomiums  of  this  swift-handed  and  economical  justice.12 

The  fiscal  regulations  of  the  Incas,  and  the  laws  respecting 
property,  are  the  most  remarkable  features  in  the  Peruvian 
polity.  The  whole  territory  of  the  empire  was  divided  into 
three  parts,  one  for  the  Sun,  another  for  the  Inca,  and  the  last 
for  the  people.  Which  of  the  three  was  the  largest  is  doubtful. 
The  proportions  differed  materially  in  different  provinces. 
The  distribution,  indeed,  was  made  on  the  same  general  prin- 
ciple, as  each  new  conquest  was  added  to  the  monarchy ; but 
the  proportion  varied  according  to  the  amount  of  population, 
and  the  greater  or  less  amount  of  land  consequently  required  for 
the  support  of  the  inhabitants.13 

The  lands  assigned  to  the  Sun  furnished  a revenue  to  support 
the  temples  and  maintain  the  costly  ceremonial  of  the  Peruvian* 
worship  and  the  multitudinous  priesthood.  Those  reserved  for 
the  Inca  went  to  support  the  royal  state,  as  well  as  the  numer- 
ous members  of  his  household  and  his  kindred,  and  supplied 
the  various  exigencies  of  government.  The  remainder  of  the 
lands  was  divided,  per  capita , in  equal  shares  among  the 
people.  It  was  provided  by  law,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter, 
that  every  Peruvian  should  marry  at  a certain  age.  When  this 

,2  The  Royal  Audience  of  Peru  under  Philip  II. — there  cannot  be  a higher  authority — 
bears  emphatic  testimony  to  the  cheap  and  efficient  administration  of  justice  under  the 
Incas : “ De  suerte  que  los  vicios  eran  bien  castigados  y la  gente  estaba  bien  sujeta  y obe- 
diente  ; y aunque  en  las  dichas  penas  havia  esceso,  redundaba  en  buen  govierno  y policia 
suya,  y mediante  ella  eran  aumentados.  . . . Porque  los  Yndios  alababan  la  governa- 

cion  del  Ynga,  y aun  los  Espanoles  que  algo  alcanzan  de  ella,  es  porque  todas  las  cosas 
susodichas  se  determinaban  sin  hacerles  costas.”  Dec.  de  la  Aud.  Real.,  MS. 

18  Acosta,  lib.  6,  cap.  15. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  5,  cap.  1. — “ Si  estas 
partes  fuesen  iguales,  o qual  fuese  mayor,  yo  lo  he  procurado  averiguar,  y en  unas  es 
diferente  de  otras,  y finalmte  yo  tengo  entendido  que  se  hacia  conforme  & la  disposicion  de 
la  tierra  y i la  calidad  de  los  Indios.”  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS. 


CHAP.  II.] 


DIVISION  OF  LANDS. 


57 


event  took  place,  the  community  or  district  in  which  he  lived 
furnished  him  with  a dwelling,  which,  as  it  was  constructed  of 
humble  materials,  was  done  at  little  cost.  A lot  of  land  was 
then  assigned  to  him  sufficient  for  his  own  maintenance  and 
that  of  his  wife.  An  additional  portion  was  granted  for  every 
child,  the  amount  allowed  for  a son  being  the  double  of  that 
for  a daughter.  The  division  of  the  soil  was  renewed  every 
year,  and  the  possessions  of  the  tenant  were  increased  or  di- 
minished according  to  the  numbers  in  his  family.14  The  same 
arrangement  was  observed  with  reference  to  the  curacas,  except 
only  that  a domain  was  assigned  to  them  corresponding  with 
the  superior  dignity  of  their  stations.15 

A more  thorough  and  effectual  agrarian  law  than  this  cannot 
be  imagined.  In  other  countries  where  such  a law  has  been 
introduced,  its  operation,  after  a time,  has  given  way  to  the 
natural  order  of  events  and,  under  the  superior  intelligence  and 
thrift  of  some  and  the  prodigality  of  others,  the  usual  vicissi- 
tudes of  fortune  have  been  allowed  to  take  their  course  and  re- 
store things  to  their  natural  inequality.  Even  the  iron  law  of 
Lycurgus  ceased  to  operate  after  a time,  and  melted  away  be- 
fore the  spirit  of  luxury  and  avarice.  The  nearest  approach  to 
‘the  Peruvian  constitution  was  probably  in  Judea,  where,  on 
the  recurrence  of  the  great  national  jubilee,  at  the  close  of  every 
half-century,  estates  reverted  to  their  original  proprietors. 
There  was  this  important  difference  in  Peru ; that  not  only  did 
the  lease,  if  we  may  so  call  it,  terminate  with  the  year,  but 

14  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS.— Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  5,  cap.  2.  The 
portion  granted  to  each  new-married  couple,  according  to  Garcilasso,  was  a fanega  and  a 
half  of  land.  A similar  quantity  was  added  for  each  male  child  that  was  born,  and  half  of 
the  quantity  for  each  female.  The  fanega  was  as  much  land  as  could  be  planted  with  a 
hundred-weight  of  Indian  corn.  In  the  fruitful  soil  of  Peru,  this  was  a liberal  allowance  for 
a family. 

16  Ibid.,  Parte  1,  lib.  5,  cap.  3. — It  is  singular  that,  while  so  much  is  said  of  the  Inca 
sovereign,  so  little  should  be  said  of  the  Inca  nobility,  of  their  estates,  or  the  tenure  by 
which  they  held  them.  Their  historian  tells  us  that  they  had  the  best  of  the  lands,  where- 
ever  they  resided,  besides  the  interest  which  they  had  in  those  of  the  Sun  and  the  Inca,  as 
children  of  the  one  and  kinsmen  of  the  other.  He  informs  us,  also,  that  they  were  supplied 
from  the  royal  table  when  living  at  court.  (Lib.  6,  cap.  3.)  But  this  is  very  loose  language. 
The  student  of  history  will  learn,  on  the  threshold,  that  he  is  not  to  expect  precise,  or  even 
very  consistent,  accounts  of  the  institutions  of  a barbarous  age  and  people  from  contempo- 
rary annalists. 


58 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  t 


during  that  period  the  tenant  had  no  power  to  alienate  or  to 
add  to  his  possessions.  The  end  of  the  brief  term  found  him 
in  precisely  the  same  condition  that  he  was  in  at  the  begin- 
ning. Such  a state  of  things  might  be  supposed  to  be  fatal  to 
anything  like  attachment  to  the  soil,  or  to  that  desire  of  im- 
proving it  which  is  natural  to  the  permanent  proprietor,  and 
hardly  less  so  to  the  holder  of  a long  lease.  But  the  practical 
operation  of  the  law  seems  to  have  been  otherwise ; and  it  is 
probable  that,  under  the  influence  of  that  love  of  order  and 
aversion  to  change  which  marked  the  Peruvian  institutions, 
each  new  partition  of  the  soil  usually  confirmed  the  occupant 
in  his  possession,  and  the  tenant  for  a year  was  converted  into 
a proprietor  for  life. 

The  territory  was  cultivated  wholly  by  the  people.  The 
lands  belonging  to  the  Sun  were  first  attended  to.  They  next 
tilled  the  lands  of  the  old,  of  the  sick,  of  the  widow  and  the 
orphan,  and  of  soldiers  engaged  in  actual  service ; in  short,  of 
all  that  part  of  the  community  who,  from  bodily  infirmity  or 
any  other  cause,  were  unable  to  attend  to  their  own  concerns. 
The  people  were  then  allowed  to  work  on  their  own  ground, 
each  man  for  himself,  but  with  the  general  obligation  to  assist 
his  neighbor  when  any  circumstance — the  burden  of  a young 
and  numerous  family,  for  example — might  demand  it.16  Last- 
ly, they  cultivated  the  lands  of  the  Inca.  This  was  done,  with 
great  ceremony,  by  the  whole  population  in  a body.  At 
break  of  day  they  were  summoned  together  by  proclamation 
from  some  neighboring  tower  or  eminence,  and  all  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  district,  men,  women,  and  children,  appeared 
dressed  in  their  gayest  apparel,  bedecked  with  their  little  store 
of  finery  and  ornaments,  as  if  for  some  great  jubilee.  They 
went  through  the  labors  of  the  day  with  the  same  joyous  spirit, 
chanting  their  popular  ballads  which  commemorated  the  heroic 
deeds  of  the  Incas,  regulating  their  movements  by  the  measure 
of  the  chant,  and  all  mingling  in  the  chorus,  of  which  the  word 
hailli , or  “ triumph,”  was  usually  the  burden.  These  national 

18  Garcilasso  relates  that  an  Indian  was  hanged  by  Huayna  Capac  for  tilling  the  ground 
of  a curaca,  his  near  relation,  before  that  of  the  poor.  The  gallows  was  erected  on  the 
curaca’s  own  land.  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  5,  cap.  2. 


CHAP.  II.] 


DIVISION  OF  LANDS. 


59 


airs  had  something  soft  and  pleasing  in  their  character,  that 
recommended  them  to  the  Spaniards ; and  many  a Peruvian 
song  was  set  to  music  by  them  after  the  Conquest,  and  was 
listened  to  by  the  unfortunate  natives  with  melancholy  satis- 
faction, as  it  called  up  recollections  of  the  past,  when  their 
days  glided  peacefully  away  under  the  sceptre  of  the  Incas.17 

A similar  arrangement  prevailed  with  respect  to  the  different 
manufactures  as  to  the  agricultural  products  of  the  country. 
The  flocks  of  llamas,  or  Peruvian  sheep,  were  appropriated  ex- 
clusively to  the  Sun  and  to  the  Inca.18  Their  number  was  im- 
mense. They  were  scattered  over  the  different  provinces, 
chiefly  in  the  colder  regions  of  the  country,  where  they  were  in- 
trusted to  the  care  of  experienced  shepherds,  who  conducted 
them  to  different  pastures  according  to  the  change  of  season. 
A large  number  was  every  year  sent  to  the  capital  for  the  con- 
sumption of  the  court,  and  for  the  religious  festivals  and  sacri- 
fices. But  these  were  only  the  males,  as  no  female  was 
allowed  to  be  killed.  The  regulations  for  the  care  and  breed- 
ing of  these  flocks  were  prescribed  with  the  greatest  minute- 
ness, and  with  a sagacity  which  excited  the  admiration  of  the 
Spaniards,  who  were  familiar  with  the  management  of  the  great 
migratory  flocks  of  merinos  in  their  own  country.19 

At  the  appointed  season  they  were  all  sheared,  and  the  wool 
was  deposited  in  the  public  magazines.  It  was  then  dealt  out 
to  each  family  in  such  quantities  as  sufficed  for  its  wants,  and 
was  consigned  to  the  female  part  of  the  household,  who  were 
well  instructed  in  the  business  of  spinning  and  weaving.  When 
this  labor  was  accomplished,  and  the  family  was  provided 
with  a coarse  but  warm  covering,  suited  to  the  cold  climate  of 
the  mountains — for  in  the  lower  country  cotton,  furnished  in 
like  manner  by  the  crown,  took  the  place,  to  a certain  extent, 

1T  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  5,  cap.  1-3. — Ondegardo,  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. 

18  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS. — Yet  sometimes  the  sovereign  would  recompense  some 
great  chief,  or  even  someone  among  the  people,  who  had  rendered  him  a service,  by  the 
grant  of  a small  number  of  llamas — never  many.  These  were  not  to  be  disposed  of  or 
killed  by  their  owners,  but  descended  as  common  property  to  their  heirs.  This  strange  ar* 
rangement  proved  a fruitful  source  of  litigation  after  the  Conquest.  Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 

19  See  especially  the  account  of  the  Licentiate  Ondegardo,  who  goes  into  more  detail  than 
any  contemporary  writer  concerning  the  management  of  the  Peruvian  flocks.  Rel.  Seg.. 


1 


60  CIVILIZATION-  OF  THE  INCAS.  [book  i. 

of  wool — the  people  were  required  to  labor  for  the  Inca.  The 
quantity  of  the  cloth  needed,  as  well  as  the  peculiar  kind  and 
quality  of  the  fabric,  was  first  determined  at  Cuzco.  The  work 
was  then  apportioned  among  the  different  provinces.  Officers 
appointed  for  the  purpose  superintended  the  distribution  of  the 
wool,  so  that  the  manufacture  of  the  different  articles  should  be 
intrusted  to  the  most  competent  hands.20  They  did  not  leave 
the  matter  here,  but  entered  the  dwellings,  from  time  to  time, 
and  saw  that  the  work  was  faithfully  executed.  This  domestic 
inquisition  was  not  confined  to  the  labors  for  the  Inca.  It  in- 
cluded, also,  those  for  the  several  families ; and  care  was  taken 
that  each  household  should  employ  the  materials  furnished  for 
its  own  use  in  the  manner  that  was  intended,  so  that  no  one 
should  be  unprovided  with  necessary  apparel.21  In  this  domes- 
tic labor  all  the  female  part  of  the  establishment  was  expected 
to  join.  Occupation  was  found  for  all,  from  the  child  five 
years  old  to  the  aged  matron  not  too  infirm  to  hold  a distaff. 
No  one,  at  least  none  but  the  decrepit  and  the  sick,  was  allowed 
to  eat  the  bread  of  idleness  in  Peru.  Idleness  was  a crime  in 
the  eye  of  the  law,  and  as  such,  severely  punished  ; while  in- 
dustry was  publicly  commended  and  stimulated  by  rewards.22 

The  like  course  was  pursued  with  reference  to  the  other  req- 
uisitions of  the  government.  All  the  mines  in  the  kingdom 
belonged  to  the  Inca.  They  were  wrought  exclusively  for  his 
benefit,  by  persons  familiar  with  this  service  and  selected  from 
the  districts  where  the  mines  were  situated.23  Every  Peruvian 
of  the  lower  class  was  a husbandman,  and,  with  the  exception 
of  those  already  specified,  was  expected  to  provide  for  his  own 

20  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim,  et  Seg.,  MSS. — The  manufacture  of  cloths  for  the  Inca  in- 
cluded those  for  the  numerous  persons  of  the  blood  royal,  who  wore  garments  of  a finer 
texture  than  was  permitted  to  any  other  Peruvian.  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  5, 
cap.  6. 

Ondegardo,  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. — Acosta,  lib.  6,  cap.  15. 

22  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  5,  cap.  n. 

23  Garcilasso  would  have  us  believe  that  the  Inca  was  indebted  to  the  curacas  for  his  gold 
and  silver,  which  were  furnished  by  the  great  vassals  gis  presents.  (Com.  Real.,  Parte  1, 
lib.  s,  cap.  7.)  This  improbable  statement  is  contradicted  by  the  Report  of  the  Royal  Au- 
dience, MS.,  by  Sarmiento  (Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  15),  and  by  Ondegardo  (Rel.  Prim.,  MS.), 
who  all  speak  of  the  mines  as  the  property  of  the  government  and  wrought  exclusively  for 
its  benefit.  From  this  reservoir  the  proceeds  were  liberally  dispensed  in  the  form  of  pres- 
ents among  the  great  lords,  and  still  more  for  the  embellishment  of  the  temples. 


CHAP.  II.] 


REVENUES  AND  REGISTERS. 


61 


support  by  the  cultivation  of  his  land.  A small  portion  of  the 
community,  however,  was  instructed  in  mechanical  arts — some 
of  them  of  the  more  elegant  kind,  subservient  to  the  purposes 
of  luxury  and  ornament.  The  demand  for  these  was  chiefly 
limited  to  the  sovereign  and  his  court ; but  the  labor  of  a 
larger  number  of  hands  was  exacted  for  the  execution  of  the 
great  public  works  which  covered  the  land.  The  nature  and 
amount  of  the  services  required  were  all  determined  at  Cuzco 
by  commissioners  well  instructed  in  the  resources  of  the  country 
and  in  the  character  of  the  inhabitants  of  different  provinces.24 

This  information  was  obtained  by  an  admirable  regulation, 
which  has  scarcely  a counterpart  in  the  annals  of  a semi- 
civilized  people.  A register  was  kept  of  all  the  births  and 
deaths  throughout  the  country,  and  exact  returns  of  the  actual 
population  were  made  to  the  government  every  year,  by  means 
of  the  quipus , a curious  invention,  which  will  be  explained 
hereafter.26  At  certain  intervals,  also,  a general  survey  of  the 
country  was  made,  exhibiting  a complete  view  of  the  character 
of  the  soil,  its  fertility,  the  nature  of  its  products,  both  agricul- 
tural and  mineral — in  short,  of  all  that  constituted  the  physical 
resources  of  the  empire.26  Furnished  with  these  statistical  de- 
tails, it  was  easy  for  the  government,  after  determining  the 
amount  of  requisitions,  to  distribute  the  work  among  the  re- 
spective provinces  best  qualified  to  execute  it.  The  task  of 
apportioning  the  labor  was  assigned  to  the  local  authorities, 
and  great  care  was  taken  that  it  should  be  done  in  such  a man- 
ner that,  while  the  most  competent  hands  were  selected,  the 
weight  should  not  fall  disproportionately  on  any.37 

34  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  5,  cap.  13-16. — Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim,  et  Seg.# 
MSS. 

25  Montesinos,  Mem.  antiguas,  MS.,  lib.  2,  cap.  6. — Pedro  Pizarro,  Relacion  del  Des- 
cubrimiento  y Conquista  de  los  Reynos  del  Peru,  MS. — “ Cada  provincia,  en  fin  del  ano, 
mandava  asentar  en  los  quipos  por  la  cuenta  de  sus  nudos,  todos  los  hombres  que  habian 
muerto  en  ella  en  aquel  ano,  y por  el  consiguiente  los  que  habian  nacido,  y por  principio  „ 
del  ano  que  entraba,  venian  con  los  quipos  al  Cuzco.”  Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  16. 

26  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  2,  cap.  14. 

27  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS. — Sarmiento,  Rel.,  MS.,  cap.  15. — " Presupuesta  y en- 
tendida  la  dicha  division  que  el  Inga  tenia  hecha  de  su-gente,  y orden  que  tenia  puesta  en 
el  govierno  de  ella,  era  muy  facil  haverla  en  la  division  y cobranza  de  los  dichos  tributos  ; 
porque  era  claro  y cierto  lo  que  £ cada  uno  cabia  sin  que  hubiese  desigualdad  ni  engafio." 
Dec.  de  la  Aud.  Real.,  MS. 


62 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  L 


The  different  provinces  of  the  country  furnished  persons 
peculiarly  suited  to  different  employments,  which,  as  we  shall 
see  hereafter,  usually  descended  from  father  to  son.  Thus,  one 
district  supplied  those  most  skilled  in  working  the  mines,  an- 
other the  most  curious  workers  in  metals  or  in  wood,  and  so 
on.28  The  artisan  was  provided  by  government  with  the  ma- 
terials ; and  no  one  was  required  to  give  more  than  a stipulated 
portion  of  his  time  to  the  public  service.  He  was  then  suc- 
ceeded by  another  for  the  like  term ; and  it  should  be  observed 
that  all  who  were  engaged  in  the  employment  of  the  govern- 
ment— and  the  remark  applies  equally  to  agricultural  labor — 
were  maintained,  for  the  time,  at  the  public  expense.29  By 
this  constant  rotation  of  labor  it  was  intended  that  no  one 
should  be  overburdened,  and  that  each  man  should  have  time 
to  provide  for  the  demands  of  his  own  household.  It  was  im- 
possible— in  the  judgment  of  a high  Spanish  authority — to  im- 
prove on  the  system  of  distribution,  so  carefully  was  it  accom- 
modated to  the  condition  and  comfort  of  the  artisan.30  The 
security  of  the  working-classes  seems  to  have  been  ever  kept  in 
view  in  the  regulations  of  the  government ; and  these  were  so 
discreetly  arranged  that  the  most  wearing  and  unwholesome 
labors,  as  those  of  the  mines,  occasioned  no  detriment  to  the 
health  of  the  laborer ; a striking  contrast  to  his  subsequent  con- 
dition under  the  Spanish  rule.31 

A part  of  the  agricultural  produce  and  manufactures  was 
transported  to  Cuzco,  to  minister  to  the  immediate  demands  of 
the  Inca  and  his  court.  But  far  the  greater  part  was  stored  in 
magazines  scattered  over  the  different  provinces.  These  spa- 
cious buildings,  constructed  of  stone,  were  divided  between  the 
Sun  and  the  Inca,  though  the  greater  share  seems  to  have  been 

28  Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  15. — Ondegardo,  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. 

29  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  5,  cap.  5. 

80  “ Y tambien  se  tenia  cuenta  que  el  trabajo  que  pasavan  fuese  moderado,  y con  el  menos 
riesgo  que  fuese  posible.  . . . Era  tanta  la  orden  que  tuvieron  estos  Indios,  que  a mi 

parecer  aunque  mucho  se  piense  en  ello  seria  dificultoso  mejorarla  conocida  su  condicion  y 
costumbres.”  Ondegardo,  Rel.,  Prim.,  MS. 

31  “The  working  of  the  mines,”  says  the  President  of  the  Council  of  the  Indies,  “ was  so 
regulated  that  no  one  felt  it  a hardship,  much  less  was  his  life  shortened  by  it.”  (Sar- 
miento, Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  15.)  It  is  a frank  admission  for  a Spaniard. 


CHAP.  If.J 


REVENUES  AND  REGISTERS. 


63 


appropriated  by  the  monarch.  By  a wise  regulation,  any  de- 
ficiency in  the  contributions  of  the  Inca  might  be  supplied 
from  the  granaries  of  the  Sun.32  But  such  a necessity  could 
rarely  have  happened ; and  the  providence  of  the  government 
usually  left  a large  surplus  in  the  royal  depositories,  which  was 
removed  to  a third  class  of  magazines,  whose  design  was  to 
supply  the  people  in  seasons  of  scarcity,  and,  occasionally,  to 
furnish  relief  to  individuals  whom  sickness  or  misfortune  had 
reduced  to  poverty ; thus  in  a manner  justifying  the  assertion 
of  a Castilian  document,  that  a large  portion  of  the  revenues 
of  the  Inca  found  its  way  back  again,  through  one  channel  or 
another,  into  the  hands  of  the  people.33  These  magazines  were 
found  by  the  Spaniards,  on  their  arrival,  stored  with  all  the 
various  products  and  manufactures  of  the  country — with  maize, 
coca  quinua , woollen  and  cotton  stuffs  of  the  finest  quality,  with 
vases  and  utensils  of  gold,  silver,  and  copper,  in  short,  with 
every  article  of  luxury  or  use  within  the  compass  of  Peruvian 
skill.34  The  magazines  of  grain,  in  particular,  would  fre- 
quently have  sufficed  for  the  consumption  of  the  adjoining  dis- 
trict for  several  years.36  An  inventory  of  the  various  products 
of  the  country,  and  the  quarters  whence  they  were  obtained, 
was  every  year  taken  by  the  royal  officers,  and  recorded  by  the 
quipucamayus  on  their  registers,  with  surprising  regularity  and 
precision.  These  registers  were  transmitted  to  the  capital  and 
submitted  to  the  Inca,  who  could  thus  at  a glance,  as  it  were, 

32  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  5,  cap.  34. — Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS. — “ E 
asi  esta  parte  del  Inga  no  hay  duda  sino  que  de  todas  tres  era  la  mayor,  y en  los  depositos 
se  parece  bien  que  yo  visits  muchos  en  diferentes  partes,  e son  mayores  e mas  largos  que 
n6  los  de  su  religion  sin  comparasion.”  Idem,  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. 

33  “Todos  los  dichos  tributos  y servicios  que  el  Inga  imponia  y llevabacomo  dicho  es 
eran  con  color  y para  efecto  del  govierno  y pro  comun  de  todos,  asi  como  lo  que  se  ponia  en 
depositos  todo  se  combertia  y distribuia  entre  los  mismos  naturales.”  Dec.  de  la  Aud. 
Real.,  MS. 

34  Acosta,  lib.  6,  cap.  15. — “ No  podre  decir,”  says  one  of  the  Conquerors,  “ los  depositos. 
Vide  de  rropas  y de  todos  generos  de  rropas  y vestidos  que  en  este  reino  se  hacian  y vsavan 
que  faltava  tiempo  para  vello  y entendimiento  para  comprender  tanta  cosa,  muchos  de- 
positos de  barretas  de  cobre  para  las  minas  y de  costales  y sogas  de  vasos  de  palo  y platos 
del  oro  y plata  que  aqui  se  hallo  hera  cosa  despan  to.”  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq., 
MS. 

35  For  ten  years,  sometimes,  if  we  may  credit  Ondegardo,  who  had  every  means  of  know- 

ing : “E  ansi  cuando  n6  era  menester  se  estaba  en  los  depositos  d habia  algunas  vezes 
comida  de  diez  anos.  . . . Los  cuales  todos  se  hallaron  llenos  cuando  llegaron  los 

Espanoles  desto  y de  todas  las  cosas  necesarias  para  la  vida  humana.”  ReL  Seg.,  MS. 


64  CIVILIZATION’  OF  THE  INCAS.  [book  i. 

embrace  the  whole  results  of  the  national  industry  and  see  how 
far  they  corresponded  with  the  requisitions  of  the  government. 88 

Such  are  some  of  the  most  remarkable  features  of  the  Peru- 
vian institutions  relating  to  property,  as  delineated  by  writers 
who,  however  contradictory  in  the  details,  have  a general  con- 
formity of  outline.  These  institutions  are  certainly  so  remark- 
able that  it  is  hardly  credible  they  should  ever  have  been 
enforced  throughout  a great  empire  and  for  a long  period  of 
years.  Yet  we  have  the  most  unequivocal  testimony  to  the 
fact  from  the  Spaniards,  who  landed  in  Peru  in  time  to  witness 
their  operation ; some  of  whom,  men  of  high  judicial  station 
and  character,  were  commissioned  by  the  government  to  make 
investigations  into  the  state  of  the  country  under  its  ancient 
rulers. 

The  impositions  on  the  Peruvian  people  seem  to  have  been 
sufficiently  heavy.  On  them  rested  the  whole  burden  of  main- 
taining not  only  their  own  order,  but  every  other  order  in  the 
state.  The  members  of  the  royal  house,  the  great  nobles,  even 
the  public  functionaries,  and  the  numerous  body  of  the  priest- 
hood, were  all  exempt  from  taxation.37  The  whole  duty  of 
defraying  the  expenses  of  the  government  belonged  to  the 
people.  Yet  this  was  not  materially  different  from  the  condi- 
tion of  things  formerly  existing  in  most  parts  of  Europe  where 
the  various  privileged  classes  claimed  exemption — not  always 
with  success,  indeed — from  bearing  part  of  the  public  burdens. 
The  great  hardship  in  the  case  of  the  Peruvian  was  that  he 
could  not  better  his  condition.  His  labors  were  for  others, 
rather  than  for  himself.  However  industrious,  he  could  not 
add  a rood  to  his  own  possessions,  nor  advance  himself  one 
hair’s-breadth  in  the  social  scale.  The  great  and  universal 
motive  to  honest  industry,  that  of  bettering  one’s  lot,  was  lost 
upon  him.  The  great  law  of  human  progress  was  not  for  him. 
As  he  was  born,  so  he  was  to  die.  Even  his  time  he  could 
not  properly  call  his  own.  Without  money,  with  little  prop- 

3#  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS. — “ Por  tanta  orden  £ cuenta  que  seria  dificultoso  creerlo 
m darlo  k entender  como  ellos  lo  tienen  en  su  cuenta  6 por  registros  6 por  menudo  lo  mani- 
festaron  que  se  pudiera  por  estenso.”  Idem,  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. 

8T  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  x,  lib.  5,  cap.  15. 


CHAP.  II.] 


REVENUES  AND  REGISTERS. 


65 


erty  of  any  kind,  he  paid  his  taxes  in  labor.38  No  wonder  that 
the  government  should  have  dealt  with  sloth  as  a crime.  It 
was  a crime  against  the  state,  and  to  be  wasteful  of  time  was, 
in  a manner,  to  rob  the  exchequer.  The  Peruvian,  laboring 
all  his  life  for  others,  might  be  compared  to  the  convict  in  a 
treadmill,  going  the  same  dull  round  of  incessant  toil,  with  the 
consciousness  that,  however  profitable  the  results  to  the  state, 
they  were  nothing  to  him. 

But  this  is  the  dark  side  of  the  picture.  If  no  man  could 
become  rich  in  Peru,  no  man  could  become  poor.  No  spend- 
thrift could  waste  his  substance  in  riotous  luxury.  No  adven- 
turous schemer  could  impoverish  his  family  by  the  spirit  of 
speculation.  The  law  was  constantly  directed  to  enforce  a 
steady  industry  and  a sober  management  of  his  affairs.  No  men- 
dicant was  tolerated  in  Peru.  When  a man  was  reduced  by 
poverty  or  misfortune  (it  could  hardly  be  by  fault),  the  arm  of 
the  law  was  stretched  out  to  minister  relief ; not  the  stinted 
relief  of  private  charity,  nor  that  which  is  doled  out,  drop  by 
drop,  as  it  were,  from  the  frozen  reservoirs  of  “ the  parish,” 
but  in  generous  measure,  bringing  no  humiliation  to  the  object 
of  it,  and  placing  him  on  a level  with  the  rest  of  his  country- 
men.39 

No  man  could  be  rich,  no  man  could  be  poor,  in  Peru  ; but 
all  might  enjoy,  and  did  enjoy,  a competence.  Ambition, 
avarice,  the  love  of  change,  the  morbid  spirit  of  discontent, 
those  passions  which  most  agitate  the  minds  of  men,  found  no 
place  in  the  bosom  of  the  Peruvian.  The  very  condition  of 

88  “ Solo  el  trabajo  de  las  personas  era  el  tributo  que  se  dava,  porque  ellos  no  poseian 
otra  cosa.”  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS. 

39  “ Era  tanta  la  orden  que  tenia  en  todos  sus  Reinos  y provincias,  que  no  consentja 
haver  ningun  Indio  pobre  ni  menesteroso,  porque  havia  orden  i formas  para  ello  sin  que  los 
pueblos  reciviesen  vexacion  ni  molestia,  porque  el  Inga  lo  suplia  de  sus  tributos.”  (Conq. 
i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS.)  The  Licentiate  Ondegardo  sees  only  a device  of  Satan  in  these 
provisions  of  the  Peruvian  law,  by  which  the  old,  the  infirm,  and  the  poor  were  rendered, 
in  a manner,  independent  of  their  children  and  those  nearest  of  kin,  on  whom  they  would 
naturally  have  leaned  for  support ; no  surer  way  to  harden  the  heart,  he  considers,  than  by 
thus  disengaging  it  from  the  sympathies  of  humanity  ; and  no  circumstance  has  done  more, 
he  concludes,  to  counteract  the  influence  and  spread  of  Christianity  among  the  natives. 
(Rel.  Seg.,  MS.)  The  views  are  ingenious ; but  in  a country  where  the  people  had  no 
property,  as  in  Peru,  there  would  seem  to  be  no  alternative  for  the  supernumeraries  but  to 
receive  support  from  government  or  to  starve. 


66  CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS . [book  i. 

his  being  seemed  to  be  at  war  with  change.  He  moved  on  in 
the  same  unbroken  circle  in  which  his  fathers  had  moved  be- 
fore him,  and  in  which  his  children  were  to  follow.  It  was 
the  object  of  the  Incas  to  infuse  into  their  subjects  a spirit  of 
passive  obedience  and  tranquillity — a perfect  acquiescence  in 
the  established  order  of  things.  In  this  they  fully  succeeded. 
The  Spaniards  who  first  visited  the  country  are  emphatic  in 
their  testimony  that  no  government  could  have  been  better 
suited  to  the  genius  of  the  people,  and  no  people  could  have 
appeared  more  contented  with  their  lot  or  more  devoted  to 
their  government.40 

Those  who  may  distrust  the  accounts  of  Peruvian  industry 
will  find  their  doubts  removed  on  a visit  to  the  country.  The 
traveller  still  meets,  especially  in  the  central  regions  of  the 
table-land,  with  memorials  of  the  past,  remains  of  temples, 
palaces,  fortresses,  terraced  mountains,  great  military  roads, 
aqueducts,  and  other  public  works,  which,  whatever  degree  of 
science  they  may  display  in  their  execution,  astonish  him  by 
their  number,  the  massive  character  of  the  materials,  and  the 
grandeur  of  the  design.  Among  them,  perhaps  the  most  re- 
markable are  the  great  roads,  the  broken  remains  of  which  are 
still  in  sufficient  preservation  to  attest  their  former  magnifi- 
cence. There  were  many  of  these  roads,  traversing  different 
parts  of  the  kingdom  ; but  the  most  considerable  were  the  two 
which  extended  from  Quito  to  Cuzco,  and,  again  diverging 
from  the  capital,  continued  in  a southerly  direction  toward 
Chili. 

One  of  these  roads  passed  over  the  grand  plateau,  and  the 
other  along  the  lowlands  on  the  borders  of  the  ocean.  The 
former  was  much  the  more  difficult  achievement,  from  the 
character  of  the  country.  It  was  conducted  over  pathless 
sierras  buried  in  snow  ; galleries  were  cut  for  leagues  through 
the  living  rock ; rivers  were  crossed  by  means  of  bridges  that 
swung  suspended  in  the  air  ; precipices  were  scaled  by  stair- 
ways hewn  out  of  the  native  bed  ; ravines  of  hideous  depth 
were  filled  up  with  solid  masonry : in  short,  all  the  difficulties 

40  Acosta,  lib.  6,  cap.  12,  15. — Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  10. 


CHAP.  II.] 


GREAT  ROADS  AND  POSTS. 


6? 


that  beset  a wild  and  mountainous  region,  and  which  migm 
appal  the  most  courageous  engineer  of  modern  times,  were  en- 
countered and  successfully  overcome.  The  length  of  the  road, 
of  which  scattered  fragments  only  remain,  is  variously  esti- 
mated at  from  fifteen  hundred  to  two  thousand  miles ; and 
stone  pillars,  in  the  manner  of  European  mile-stones,  were 
erected  at  stated  intervals  of  somewhat  more  than  a league,  all 
along  the  route.  Its  breadth  scarcely  exceeded  twenty  feet.41 
It  was  built  of  heavy  flags  of  freestone,  and,  in  some  parts  at 
least,  covered  with  a bituminous  cement,  which  time  has  made 
harder  than  the  stone  itself.  In  some  places,  where  the  ravines 
had  been  filled  up  with  masonry,  the  mountain-torrents,  wear- 
ing on  it  for  ages,  have  gradually  eaten  a way  through  the 
base,  and  left  the  superincumbent  mass — such  is  the  cohesion 
of  the  materials— still  spanning  the  valley  like  an  arch  ! 4S 

Over  some  of  the  boldest  streams  it  was  necessary  to  con- 
struct suspension-bridges,  as  they  are  termed,  made  of  the 
tough  fibres  of  the  maguey,  or  of  the  osier  of  the  country,  which 
has  an  extraordinary  degree  of  tenacity  and  strength.  These 
osiers  were  woven  into  cables  of  the  thickness  of  a man’s  body. 
The  huge  ropes,  then  stretched  across  the  water,  were  con- 
ducted through  rings  or  holes  cut  in  immense  buttresses  of 
stone  raised  on  the  opposite  banks  of  the  river  and  there  se- 
cured to  heavy  pieces  of  timber.  Several  of  these  enormous 
cables,  bound  together,  formed  a bridge,  which,  covered  with 
planks  well  secured,  and  defended  by  a railing  of  the  same 

41  Dec.  de  la  Aud.  Real.,  MS. — f*  Este  camino  hecho  por  valles  ondos  y por  sierras  altas, 
por  montes  de  nieve,  por  tremedales  de  agua  y por  pena  viva  y junto  a rios  furiosos  por 
estas  partes  y ballano  y empedrado  por  las  laderas,  bien  sacado  por  las  sierras,  deshe- 
chado,  por  las  penas  socavado,  por  junto  a los  Rios  sus  paredes,  entre  nieves  con  escalones 
y descanso,  por  todas  partes  limpio  barrido  descombrado,  lleno  de  aposentos,  de  depositos 
de  tesoros,  de  Templos  del  Sol,  de  Postas  que  ha  via  en  este  camino.”  Sarmiento,  Rela- 
eion,  MS.,  cap.  60. 

42  “ On  avait  combl4  les  vides  et  les  ravins  par  de  grandes  masses  de  magonnerie.  Les 
torrents  qui  descendent  des  hauteurs  apres  des  pluies  abondantes  avaient  creuse  les  en 
droits  les  moins  solides,  et  s’^taient  fraye  une  voie  sous  le  chemin,  le  laissant  ainsi  sus- 
pendu  en  l’air  comme  un  pont  fait  d’une  seule  pi&ce.”  (Velasco,  Hist,  de  Quito,  tom.  i.,  p. 
206.)  This  writer  speaks  from  personal  observation,  having  examined  and  measured  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  road,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century.  The  Spanish  scholar  will 
find  in  Appendix  No.  2 an  animated  description  of  this  magnificent  work  and  of  the  ob- 
stacles encountered  in  the  execution  of  it,  in  a passage  borrowed  from  Sarmiento,  who 
6aw  it  in  the  days  of  the  Incas. 


68 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[book  i 


osier  materials  on  the  sides,  afforded  a safe  passage  for  the 
traveller.  The  length  of  this  aerial  bridge,  sometimes  exceed- 
ing two  hundred  feet,  caused  it,  confined  as  it  was  only  at  the 
extremities,  to  dip  with  an  alarming  inclination  toward  the 
centre,  while  the  motion  given  to  it  by  the  passenger  occa- 
sioned an  oscillation  still  more  frightful,  as  his  eye  wandered 
over  the  dark  abyss  of  waters  that  foamed  and  tumbled  many  a 
fathom  beneath.  Yet  these  light  and  fragile  fabrics  were 
crossed  without  fear  by  the  Peruvians,  and  are  still  retained  by 
the  Spaniards  over  those  streams  which,  from  the  depth  or  im- 
petuosity of  the  current,  would  seem  impracticable  for  the 
usual  modes  of  conveyance.  The  wider  and  more  tranquil 
waters  were  crossed  on  balsas — a kind  of  raft  still  much  used 
by  the  natives — to  which  sails  were  attached,  furnishing  the 
only  instance  of  this  higher  kind  of  navigation  among  the 
American  Indians.43 

The  other  great  road  of  the  Incas  lay  through  the  level 
country  between  the  Andes  and  the  ocean.  It  was  constructed 
in  a different  manner,  as  demanded  by  the  nature  of  the  ground, 
which  was  for  the  most  part  low,  and  much  of  it  sandy.  The 
causeway  was  raised  on  a high  embankment  of  earth,  and  de- 
fended on  either  side  by  a parapet  or  wall  of  clay ; and  trees 
and  odoriferous  shrubs  were  planted  along  the  margin,  regaling 
the  sense  of  the  traveller  with  their  perfumes,  and  refreshing 
him  by  their  shades,  so  grateful  under  the  burning  sky  of  the 
tropics.  In  the  strips  of  sandy  waste  which  occasionally  inter- 
vened, where  the  light  and  volatile  soil  was  incapable  of  sus- 
taining a road,  huge  piles,  many  of  them  to  be  seen  at  this 
day,  were  driven  into  the  ground  to  indicate  the  route  to  the 
traveller.44 

All  along  these  highways,  caravansaries,  or  lambos,  as  they 


43  Garcillasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  t,  lib.  3,  cap.  7. — A particular  account  of  these  bridges, 
as  they  are  still  to  be  seen  in  different  parts  of  Peru,  may  be  found  in  Humboldt.  (Vues 
des  Cordill&res,  p.  230  et  seq.)  The  balsas  are  described  with  equal  minuteness  by  Stev- 
enson. Residence  in  America,  vol.  ii.,  p.  222  et  seq. 

44  Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap.  60. — Relacion  del  primer  Descubrimiento  de  la  Costa  y 
Mar  del  Sur,  MS. — This  anonymous  document  of  one  of  the  early  Conquerors  contains  a 
minute  and  probably  trustworthy  account  of  both  the  high  roads,  which  the  writer  saw  in 
their  glory,  and  which  he  ranks  among  the  greatest  wonders  of  the  world. 


chap,  ir.]  GREAT  ROADS  AND  POSTS.  69 

were  called,  were  erected,  at  the  distance  of  ten  or  twelve  miles 
from  each  other,  for  the  accommodation,  more  particularly, 
of  the  Inca  and  his  suite  and  those  who  journeyed  on  the 
public  business.  There  were  few  other  travellers  in  Peru. 
Some  of  these  buildings  were  on  an  extensive  scale,  con- 
sisting of  a fortress,  barracks,  and  other  military  works, 
surrounded  by  a parapet  of  stone  and  covering  a large  tract  of 
ground.  These  were  evidently  destined  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  imperial  armies  when  on  their  march  across  the 
country.  The  care  of  the  great  roads  was  committed  to  the 
districts  through  which  they  passed,  and  under  the  Incas  a 
large  number  of  hands  was  constantly  employed  to  keep  them 
in  repair.  This  was  the  more  easily  done  in  a country  where 
the  mode  of  travelling  was  altogether  on  foot ; though  the  roads 
are  said  to  have  been  so  nicely  constructed  that  a carriage 
might  have  rolled  over  them  as  securely  as  on  any  of  the  great 
roads  of  Europe.46  Still,  in  a region  where  the  elements  of 
fire  and  water  are  both  actively  at  work  in  the  business  of  de- 
struction, they  must,  without  constant  supervision,  have  gradu- 
ally gone  to  decay.  Such  has  been  their  fate  under  the  Span- 
ish conquerors,  who  took  no  care  to  enforce  the  admirable 
system  for  their  preservation  adopted  by  the  Incas.  Yet  the 
broken  portions  that  still  survive  here  and  there,  like  the  frag- 
ments of  the  great  Roman  roads  scattered  over  Europe,  bear 
evidence  to  their  primitive  grandeur,  and  have  drawn  forth 
the  eulogium  from  a discriminating  traveller,  usually  not  too 
profuse  in  his  panegyric,  that  “ the  roads  of  the  Incas  were 
among  the  most  useful  and  stupendous  works  ever  executed  by 
man.”  46 

The  system  of  communication  through  their  dominions  was 
still  further  improved  by  the  Peruvian  sovereigns  by  the  intro- 
duction of  posts,  in  the  same  manner  as  was  done  by  the  Aztecs. 
The  Peruvian  posts,  however,  established  on  all  the  great 

45  Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS.— Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap.  37. — Zarate,  Conq. 
del  Peru,  lib.  i,  cap.  n. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  9,  cap.  13. 

46  “ Cette  chaussee,  bordee  de  grandes  pierres  de  taille,  peut  etre  comparee  aux  plus 

belles  routes  des  Romains  que  j’aie  vues  en  Italie,  en  France  et  en  Espagne.  . . . Le 

grand  chemin  de  l’Inca,  un  des  ouvrages  les  plus  utiles  et  en  meme  temps  des  plus  gigatl- 
tesques  que  les  hommes  aient  ex^cut^.”  Humboldt,  Vues  des  Cordill&res,  p.  294. 


;o 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  I 


routes  that  conducted  to  the  capital,  were  on  a much  more 
extended  plan  than  those  in  Mexico.  All  along  these  routes, 
small  buildings  were  erected,  at  the  distance  of  less  than  five 
miles  asunder,47  in  each  of  which  a number  of  runners,  or  chas- 
quis, as  they  were  called,  were  stationed  to  carry  forward  the  de- 
spatches of  government.48  These  despatches  were  either  ver- 
bal, or  conveyed  by  means  of  quipus , and  sometimes  accom- 
panied by  a thread  of  the  crimson  fringe  worn  round  the  tem- 
ples of  the  Inca,  which  was  regarded  with  the  same  implicit 
deference  as  the  signet-ring  of  an  Oriental  despot.49 

The  chasquis  were  dressed  in  a peculiar  livery,  intimating 
their  profession.  They  were  all  trained  to  the  employment, 
and  selected  for  their  speed  and  fidelity.  As  the  distance  each 
courier  had  to  perform  was  small,  and  as  he  had  ample  time  to 
refresh  himself  at  the  stations,  they  ran  over  the  ground  with 
great  swiftness,  and  messages  were  carried  through  the  whole 
extent  of  the  long  routes,  at  the  rate  of  a hundred  and  fifty 
miles  a day.  The  office  of  the  chasquis  was  not  limited  to 
carrying  despatches.  They  frequently  brought  various  articles 
for  the  use  of  the  court ; and  in  this  way  fish  from  the  distant 
ocean,  fruits,  game,  and  different  commodities  from  the  hot 
regions  on  the  coast,  were  taken  to  the  capital  in  good  condi- 
tion and  served  fresh  at  the  royal  table.60  It  is  remarkable 
that  this  important  institution  should  have  been  known  to  both 
the  Mexicans  and  the  Peruvians  without  any  correspondence 
with  one  another,  and  that  it  should  have  been  found  among 

47  The  distance  between  the  post-houses  is  variously  stated  ; most  writers  not  estimating 
it  at  more  than  three-fourths  of  a league.  I have  preferred  the  authority  of  Ondegardo, 
who  usually  writes  with  more  conscientiousness  and  knowledge  of  his  ground  than  most  of 
his  contemporaries. 

48  The  term  chasqui,  according  to  Montesinos,  signifies  “one  that  receives  a thing.” 
(Mem.  antiguas,  MS.,  cap.  7.)  But  Garcilasso,  a better  authority  for  his  own  tongue,  says 
it  meant  “one  makes  an  exchange.”  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  6,  cap.  8. 

49  “ Con  vn  hilo  de  esta  Borla,  entregado  & uno  de  aquellos  Orejones,  governaban  la 
Tierra  i proveian  lo  que  querian  con  maior  obediencia,  que  en  ninguna  Provincia  del 
Mundo  se  ha  visto  tener  a las  Provissiones  de  su  Rei.” — Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  lib.  xf 
cap.  g. 

60  Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  18. — Dec.  de  la  Aud.  Real.,  MS. — If  we  may  trust 
Montesinos,  the  royal  table  was  served  with  fish,  taken  a hundred  leagues  from  the  capi- 
tal, in  twenty-four  hours  after  it  was  drawn  from  the  ocean  ! (Mem.  antiguas,  MS.,  lib.  2, 
cap.  7. ) This  is  rather  too  expeditions  for  anything  but  railways. 


chap,  ii.]  GREAT  ROADS  AND  POSTS.  ?l 

two  barbarian  nations  of  the  New  World  long  before  it  was  in- 
troduced among  the  civilized  nations  of  Europe. 61 

By  these  wise  contrivances  of  the  Incas,  the  most  distant 
parts  of  the  long-extended  empire  of  Peru  were  brought  into 
intimate  relations  with  each  other.  And  while  the  capitals  of 
Christendom,  but  a few  hundred  miles  apart,  remained  as  far 
asunder  as  if  seas  had  rolled  between  them,  the  great  capitals 
Cuzco  and  Quito  were  placed  by  the  high-roads  of  the  Incas 
in  immediate  correspondence.  Intelligence  from  the  numerous 
provinces  was  transmitted  on  the  wings  of  the  wind  to  the  Pe- 
ruvian metropolis,  the  great  focus  to  which  all  the  lines  of 
communication  converged.  Not  an  insurrectionary  movement 
could  occur,  not  an  invasion  on  the  remotest  frontier,  before 
the  tidings  were  conveyed  to  the  capital  and  the  imperial 
armies  were  on  their  march  across  the  magnificent  roads  of  the 
country  to  suppress  it.  So  admirable  was  the  machinery  con- 
trived by  the  American  despots  for  maintaining  tranquillity 
throughout  their  dominions  ! It  may  remind  us  of  the  similar 
institutions  of  ancient  Rome,  when,  under  the  Caesars,  she  was 
mistress  of  half  the  world. 

A principal  design  of  the  great  roads  was  to  serve  the  pur- 
poses of  military  communication.  It  formed  an  important  item 
of  their  military  policy,  which  is  quite  as  well  worth  studying 
as  their  municipal. 

Notwithstanding  the  pacific  professions  of  the  Incas,  and  the 
pacific  tendency,  indeed,  of  their  domestic  institutions,  they 
were  constantly  at  war.  It  was  by  war  that  their  paltry  terri- 
tory had  been  gradually  enlarged  to  a powerful  empire.  When 
this  was  achieved,  the  capital,  safe  in  its  central  position,  was 
no  longer  shaken  by  these  military  movements,  and  the  country 


51  The  institution  of  the  Peruvian  posts  seems  to  have  made  a great  impression  on  the 
minds  of  the  Spaniards  who  first  visited  the  country  ; and  ample  notices  of  it  maybe  found 
in  Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  15. — Dec.  de  la  Aud.  Real.,  MS. — Fernandez,  Hist, 
del  Peru,  Parte  2,  lib.  3,  cap.  5. — Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS.,  et  auct.  plurimis. — The  es- 
tablishment of  posts  is  of  old  date  among  the  Chinese,  and  probably  still  older  among  the 
Persians.  (See  Herodotus,  Hist.  Urania,  sec.  98.)  It  is  singular  that  an  invention  de- 
signed for  the  uses  of  a despotic  government  should  have  received  its  full  application  only 
under  a free  one.  For  in  it  we  have  the  germ  of  that  beautiful  system  of  intercommuni* 
cation  which  binds  all  the  nations  of  Christendom  together  as  one  vast  commonwealth. 


72 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS . 


[book  i 


enjoyed,  in  a great  degree,  the  blessings  of  tranquillity  and 
order.  But,  however  tranquil  at  heart,  there  is  not  a reign 
upon  record  in  which  the  nation  was  not  engaged  in  war 
against  the  barbarous  nations  on  the  frontier.  Religion  fur- 
nished a plausible  pretext  for  incessant  aggression,  and  dis- 
guised the  lust  of  conquest  in  the  Incas,  probably,  from  their 
own  eyes,  as  well  as  from  those  of  their  subjects.  Like  the 
followers  of  Mahomet,  bearing  the  sword  in  one  hand  and  the 
Koran  in  the  other,  the  Incas  of  Peru  offered  no  alternative 
but  the  worship  of  the  Sun  or  war. 

It  is  true  their  fanaticism — or  their  policy — showed  itself  in 
a milder  form  than  was  found  in  the  descendants  of  the 
Prophet.  Like  the  great  luminary  which  they  adored,  they 
operated  by  gentleness,  more  potent  than  violence.52  They 
sought  to  soften  the  hearts  of  the  rude  tribes  around  them,  and 
melt  them  by  acts  of  condescension  and  kindness.  Far  from 
provoking  hostilities,  they  allowed  time  for  the  salutary  ex- 
ample of  their  own  institutions  to  work  its  effect,  trusting  that 
their  less  civilized  neighbors  would  submit  to  their  sceptre, 
from  a conviction  of  the  blessings  it  would  secure  to  them. 
When  this  course  failed,  they  employed  other  measures,  but 
still  of  a pacific  character,  and  endeavored  by  negotiation,  by 
conciliatory  treatment,  and  by  presents  to  the  leading  men,  to 
win  them  over  to  their  dominion.  In  short,  they  practised  all 
the  arts  familiar  to  the  most  subtle  politician  of  a civilized  land 
to  secure  the  acquisition  of  empire.  When  all  these  expedi- 
ents failed,  they  prepared  for  war. 

Their  levies  were  drawn  from  all  the  different  provinces; 
though  from  some,  where  the  character  of  the  people  was  par- 
ticularly hardy,  more  than  from  others.63  It  seems  probable 
that  every  Peruvian  who  had  reached  a certain  age  might  be 
called  to  bear  arms.  But  the  rotation  of  military  service,  and 
the  regular  drills,  which  took  place  twice  or  thrice  in  a month, 
of  the  inhabitants  of  every  village,  raised  the  soldiers  generally 
above  the  rank  of  a raw  militia.  The  Peruvian  army,  at  first 

88  “Mas  se  hicieron  Sefiores  al  principio  por  mafia,  que  por  fuerza.”  Ondegardo,  Rel 
Prim,,  MS.  88  Idem,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS. — Dec.  de  la  Aud.  Real.,  MS. 


chap,  ii.]  MILITARY  TACTICS  AND  POLICY. 


7 3 


inconsiderable,  came  with  the  increase  of  population,  in  the 
latter  days  of  the  empire,  to  be  very  large,  so  that  their  mon- 
archs  could  bring  into  the  field,  as  contemporaries  assure  us,  a 
force  amounting  to  two  hundred  thousand  men.  They  showed 
the  same  skill  and  respect  for  order  in  their  military  organiza- 
tion as  in  other  things.  The  troops  were  divided  into  bodies 
corresponding  with  our  battalions  and  companies,  led  by 
officers,  that  rose,  in  regular  gradation,  from  the  lowest  subal- 
tern to  the  Inca  noble  who  was  intrusted  with  the  general 
command. 64 

Their  arms  consisted  of  the  usual  weapons  employed  by  na- 
tions, whether  civilized  or  uncivilized,  before  the  invention  of 
powder  — bows  and  arrows,  lances,  darts,  a short  kind  of 
sword,  a battle-axe  or  partisan,  and  slings,  with  which  they 
were  very  expert.  Their  spears  and  arrows  were  tipped  with 
copper,  or  more  commonly,  with  bone,  and  the  weapons  of  the 
Inca  lords  were  frequently  mounted  with  gold  or  silver.  Their 
heads  were  protected  by  casques  made  either  of  wood  or  of  the 
skins  of  wild  animals,  and  sometimes  richly  decorated  with 
metal  and  with  precious  stones  surmounted  by  the  brilliant 
plumage  of  the  tropical  birds.  These,  of  course,  were  the  or- 
naments only  of  the  higher  orders.  The  great  mass  of  the 
soldiery  were  dressed  in  the  peculiar  costume  of  their  provinces, 
and  their  heads  were  wreathed  with  a sort  of  turban  or  roll  of 
different-colored  cloths,  that  produced  a gay  and  animating 
effect.  Their  defensive  armor  consisted  of  a shield  or  buckler, 
and  a close  tunic  of  quilted  cotton,  in  the  same  manner  as  with 
the  Mexicans.  Each  company  had  its  particular  banner,  and  the 
imperial  standard,  high  above  all,  displayed  the  glittering  de- 
vice of  the  rainbow — the  armorial  ensign  of  the  Incas,  intimat- 
ing their  claims  as  children  of  the  skies.65 

By  means  of  the  thorough  system  of  communication  estab- 
lished in  the  country,  a short  time  sufficed  to  draw  the  levies 

54  Gomara,  Cronica,  cap.  195. — Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS. 

56  Gomara,  Cronica,  ubi  supra. — Sarmiento,  Relation,  MS.,  cap.  20. — Velasco,  Hist,  de 
Quito,  tom.  i.,  pp.  176-179. — This  last  writer  gives  a minute  catalogue  of  the  ancient  Peru- 
vian arms,  comprehending  nearly  everything  familiar  to  the  European  soldier,  except  fire- 
arms. It  was  judicious  in  him  to  omit  these. 


74 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  * 


together  from  the  most  distant  quarters.  The  army  was  put 
under  the  direction  of  some  experienced  chief,  of  the  blood 
royal,  or,  more  frequently,  headed  by  the  Inca  in  person.  The 
march  was  rapidly  performed,  and  with  little  fatigue  to  the 
soldier ; for,  all  along  the  great  routes  quarters  were  provided 
for  him,  at  regular  distances,  where  he  could  find  ample  accom- 
modations. The  country  is  still  covered  with  the  remains  of 
military  works,  constructed  of  porphyry  or  granite,  which  tradi- 
tion assures  us  were  designed  to  lodge  the  Inca  and  his  army.68 

At  regular  intervals,  also,  magazines  were  established,  filled 
with  grain,  weapons,  and  the  different  munitions  of  war,  with 
which  the  army  was  supplied  on  its  march.  It  was  the  especial 
care  of  the  government  to  see  that  these  magazines,  which  were 
furnished  from  the  stores  of  the  Incas,  were  always  well  filled. 
When  the  Spaniards  invaded  the  country,  they  supported  their 
own  armies  for  a long  time  on  the  provisions  found  in  them.67 
The  Peruvian  soldier  was  forbidden  to  commit  any  trespass  on 
the  property  of  the  inhabitants  whose  territory  lay  in  the  line 
of  march.  Any  violation  of  this  order  was  punished  with 
death.68  The  soldier  was  clothed  and  fed  by  the  industry  of 
the  people,  and  the  Incas  rightly  resolved  that  he  should  not 
repay  this  by  violence.  Far  from  being  a tax  on  the  labors 
of  the  husbandman,  or  even  a burden  on  his  hospitality,  the 
imperial  armies  traversed  the  country,  from  one  extremity  to 
the  other,  with  as  little  inconvenience  to  the  inhabitants  as 
would  be  created  by  a procession  of  peaceful  burghers  or  a 
muster  of  holiday  soldiers  for  a review. 

88  Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  lib.  i,  cap.  n. — Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  60. — Con- 
damine  speaks  of  the  great  number  of  these  fortified  places,  scattered  over  the  country  be- 
tween Quito  and  Lima,  which  he  saw  in  his  visit  to  South  America  in  1737  ; some  of  which 
he  has  described  with  great  minuteness.  Mdmoire  sur  quelques  anciens  Monumens  du 
Pdrou,  du  Terns  des  Incas,  ap.  Histoire  de  l’Academie  Royale  des  Sciences  et  de  Belles- 
Lettres  (Berlin,  1748),  tom.  ii.,  p.  438. 

57  “E  ansi  cuando,”  says  Ondegardo,  speaking  from  his  own  personal  knowledge, 
“el  Senor  Presidente  Gasca  passd  con  la  gente  de  castigo  de  Gonzalo  Pizarro  por  el  valle 
de  Jauja,  estuvo  alii  siete  semanas  d lo  que  me  acuerdo,  se  hallaron  en  deposito  maiz  de 
cuatro  y de  tres  y de  dos  anos  mas  de  15  3 . hanegas  junto  al  camino,  6 alii  comid  la  gente, 
y se  entendio  que  si  fuera  menester  muchas  mas  no  faltaran  en  el  valle  en  aquellos  deposi- 
tos,  conforme  d la  orden  antigua,  porque  d mi  cargo  estubo  el  repartirlas  y hacer  la  cuenta 
para  pagarlas.”  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. 

68  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap.  44. — Sarmiento, 
Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  14. 


CHAP.H.]  military  tactics  and  policy. 


75 


From  the  moment  war  was  proclaimed,  the  Peruvian  mon- 
arch used  all  possible  expedition  in  assembling  his  forces,  that 
he  might  anticipate  the  movements  of  his  enemies  and  prevent 
a combination  with  their  allies.  It  was,  however,  from  the 
neglect  of  such  a principle  of  combination  that  the  several  na- 
tions of  the  country,  who  might  have  prevailed  by  confederated 
strength,  fell  one  after  another  under  the  imperial  yoke.  Yet, 
once  in  the  field,  the  Inca  did  not  usually  show  any  disposition 
to  push  his  advantages  to  the  utmost  and  urge  his  foe  to  ex- 
tremity. In  every  stage  of  the  war,  he  was  open  to  propo- 
sitions for  peace ; and,  although  he  sought  to  reduce  his  ene- 
mies by  carrying  off  their  harvests  and  distressing  them  by 
famine,  he  allowed  his  troops  to  commit  no  unnecessary  outrage 
on  person  or  property.  “ We  must  spare  our  enemies,”  one 
of  the  Peruvian  princes  is  quoted  as  saying,  “or  it  will  be  our 
loss,  since  they  and  all  that  belongs  to  them  must  soon  be 
ours.  ” 69  It  was  a wise  maxim,  and,  like  most  other  wise  max- 
ims, founded  equally  on  benevolence  and  prudence.  The  Incas 
adopted  the  policy  claimed  for  the  Romans  by  their  country- 
man, who  tells  us  that  they  gained  more  by  clemency  to  the 
vanquished  than  by  their  victories.60 

In  the  same  considerate  spirit,  they  were  most  careful  to 
provide  for  the  security  and  comfort  of  their  own  troops ; and 
when  a war  was  long  protracted,  or  the  climate  proved  un- 
healthy, they  took  care  to  relieve  their  men  by  frequent  rein- 
forcements, allowing  the  earlier  recruits  to  return  to  their 
homes.61  But  while  thus  economical  of  life,  both  in  their  own 
followers  and  in  the  enemy,  they  did  not  shrink  from  sterner 
measures  when  provoked  by  the  ferocious  or  obstinate  character 
of  the  resistance  ; and  the  Peruvian  annals  contain  more  than 
one  of  those  sanguinary  pages  which  cannot  be  pondered  at 
the  present  day  without  a shudder.  It  should  be  added  that 

59  " Mandabase  que  en  los  mantenimientos  y casas  de  los  enemigos  se  hiciese  poco 
dano,  diciendoles  el  Senor,  presto  seran  estos  nuestros  como  los  que  ya  lo  son  ; como  esto 
tenian  conocido,  procuraban  que  la  guerra  fuese  la  mas  liviana  que  ser  pudiese.”  Sar- 
miento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  14. 

eo  “ pius  pene  parcendo  victis,  qu&m  vincendo  imperium  auxisse.”  Livy,  lib.  30,  cap,  42, 

61  Garcilaeso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  6,  cap.  18. 

Peru  4 


Vol.  1 


J6  CIVILIZATION-  OF  THE  INCAS.  [book  i. 

the  beneficent  policy  which  I have  been  delineating  as  charac- 
teristic of  the  Incas  did  not  belong  to  all,  and  that  there  was 
more  than  one  of  the  royal  line  who  displayed  a full  measure  of 
the  bold  and  unscrupulous  spirit  of  the  vulgar  conqueror. 

The  first  step  of  the  government  after  the  reduction  of  a 
country  was  to  introduce  there  the  worship  of  the  Sun.  Tem- 
ples were  erected,  and  placed  under  the  care  of  a numerous 
priesthood,  who  expounded  to  the  conquered  people  the  mys- 
teries of  their  new  faith,  and  dazzled  them  by  the  display  of  its 
rich  and  stately  ceremonial. 62  Yet  the  religion  of  the  con- 
quered was  not  treated  with  dishonor.  The  Sun  was  to  be 
worshipped  above  all ; but  the  images  of  their  gods  were  re- 
moved to  Cuzco  and  established  in  one  of  the  temples,  to  hold 
their  rank  among  the  inferior  deities  of  the  Peruvian  Pantheon. 
Here  they  remained  as  hostages,  in  some  sort,  for  the  con- 
quered nation,  which  would  be  the  less  inclined  to  forsake  its 
allegiance  when  by  doing  so  it  must  leave  its  own  gods  in  the 
hands  of  its  enemies.63 

The  Incas  provided  for  the  settlement  of  their  new  conquests, 
by  ordering  a census  to  be  taken  of  the  population  and  a careful 
survey  to  be  made  of  the  country,  ascertaining  its  products  and 
the  character  and  capacity  of  its  soil.64  A division  of  the  ter- 
ritory was  then  made  on  the  same  principle  with  that  adopted 
throughout  their  own  kingdom,  and  their  respective  portions 
were  assigned  to  the  Sun,  the  sovereign,  and  the  people.  The 
amount  of  the  last  was  regulated  by  the  amount  of  the  popula- 
tion, but  the  share  of  each  individual  was  uniformly  the  same. 
It  may  seem  strange  that  any  people  should  patiently  have  ac- 
quiesced in  an  arrangement  which  involved  such  a total  sur- 
render of  property.  But  it  was  a conquered  nation  that  did  so, 
held  in  awe,  on  the  least  suspicion  of  meditated  resistance,  by 
armed  garrisons,  who  were  established  at  various  commanding 
points  throughout  the  country.66  It  is  probable,  too,  that  the 
Incas  made  no  greater  changes  than  was  essential  to  the  new 

Sarmiento,  Relaeion,  MS.,  cap.  14. 

03  Acosta,  lib.  5,  cap.  12. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  5,  cap.  12. 

94  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  5,  cap.  13,  14. — Sarmiento,  Relaeion,  MS* 
cap.  15.  08  Sarmiento,  Relaeion,  MS.,  cap.  19. 


EXECUTION  OF  THE  INCA  OF  PERU 


Peru , vol.  one. 


chap,  ii.]  MILITARY  TACTICS  AND  POLICY. 


77 


arrangement,  and  that  they  assigned  estates,  as  far  as  possible, 
to  their  former  proprietors.  The  curacas,  in  particular,  were 
confirmed  in  their  ancient  authority ; or,  when  it  was  found 
expedient  to  depose  the  existing  curaca,  his  rightful  heir  was 
allowed  to  succeed  him.66  Every  respect  was  shown  to  the 
ancient  usages  and  laws  of  the  land,  as  far  as  was  compatible 
with  the  fundamental  institutions  of  the  Incas.  It  must  also  be 
remembered  that  the  conquered  tribes  were,  many  of  them,  too 
little  advanced  in  civilization  to  possess  that  attachment  to  the 
soil  which  belongs  to  a cultivated  nation.67  But,  to  whatever 
it  be  referred,  it  seems  probable  that  the  extraordinary  institu- 
tions of  the  Incas  were  established  with  little  opposition  in  the 
conquered  territories.68 

Yet  the  Peruvian  sovereigns  did  not  trust  altogether  to  this 
show  of  obedience  in  their  new  vassals ; and,  to  secure  it  more 
effectually,  they  adopted  some  expedients  too  remarkable  to  be 
passed  over  in  silence.  Immediately  after  a recent  conquest, 
the  curacas  and  their  families  were  removed  for  a time  to 
Cuzco.  Here  they  learned  the  language  of  the  capital,  became 
familiar  with  the  manners  and  usages  of  the  court,  as  well  as 
with  the  general  policy  of  the  government,  and  experienced 
such  marks  of  favor  from  the  sovereign  as  would  be  most  grate- 
ful to  their  feelings  and  might  attach  them  most  warmly  to  his 
person.  Under  the  influence  of  these  sentiments,  they  were 
again  sent  to  rule  over  their  vassals,  but  still  leaving  their  eld- 
est sons  in  the  capital,  to  remain  there  as  a guarantee  for  their 
own  fidelity,  as  well  as  to  grace  the  court  of  the  Inca.69 

88  Fernandez,  Hist,  del  Peru,  Parte  2,  lib.  3,  cap.  11. 

67  Sarmiento  has  given  a very  full  and  interesting  account  of  the  singularly  humane 
policy  observed  by  the  Incas  in  their  conquests,  forming  a striking  contrast  with  the  usual 
course  of  those  scourges  of  mankind,  whom  mankind  is  wise  enough  to  requite  with  higher 
admiration,  even,  than  it  bestows  on  its  benefactors.  As  Sarmiento,  who  was  President  of 
the  Royal  Council  of  the  Indies,  and  came  into  the  country  soon  after  the  Conquest,  is  a 
high  authority,  and  as  his  work,  lodged  in  the  dark  recesses  of  the  Escorial,  is  almost  un- 
known, I have  transferred  the  whole  chapter  to  Appendix  No.  3. 

68  According  to  Velasco,  even  the  powerful  state  of  Quito,  sufficiently  advanced  in  civili* 
zation  to  have  the  law  of  property  well  recognized  by  its  people,  admitted  the  institutions 
of  the  Incas  “ not  only  without  repugnance,  but  with  joy.”  (Hist,  de  Quito,  tom.  ii.,  p. 
183.)  But  Velasco,  a modem  authority,  believed  easily — or  reckoned  on  his  readers 
doing  so. 

89  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  5,  cap.  12  ; lib.  7,  cap.  2. 


78 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  I, 


Another  expedient  was  of  a bolder  and  more  original  chan 
acter.  This  was  nothing  less  than  to  revolutionize  the  lan- 
guage of  the  country.  South  America,  like  North  America, 
had  a great  variety  of  dialects,  or  rather  languages,  having  little 
affinity  with  one  another.  This  circumstance  occasioned  great 
embarrassment  to  the  government  in  the  administration  of  the 
different  provinces  with  whose  idioms  they  were  unacquainted. 
It  was  determined,  therefore,  to  substitute  one  universal  lan- 
guage, the  Quichua — the  language  of  the  court,  the  capital, 
and  the  surrounding  country — the  richest  and  most  comprehen- 
sive of  the  South  American  dialects.  Teachers  were  provided 
in  the  towns  and  villages  throughout  the  land,  who  were  to 
give  instruction  to  all,  even  the  humblest  classes ; and  it  was 
intimated  at  the  same  time  that  no  one  should  be  raised  to  any 
office  of  dignity  or  profit  who  was  unacquainted  with  this 
tongue.  The  curacas  and  other  chiefs  who  attended  at  the 
capital  became  familiar  with  this  dialect  in  their  intercourse 
with  the  court,  and,  on  their  return  home,  set  the  example  of 
conversing  in  it  among  themselves.  This  example  was  imi- 
tated by  their  followers,  and  the  Quichua  gradually  became 
the  language  of  elegance  and  fashion,  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  Norman  French  was  affected  by  all  those  who  aspired  to 
any  consideration  in  England  after  the  Conquest.  By  this 
means,  while  each  province  retained  its  peculiar  tongue,  a beau- 
tiful medium  of  communication  was  introduced,  which  enabled 
the  inhabitants  of  one  part  of  the  country  to  hold  intercourse 
with  every  other,  and  the  Inca  and  his  deputies  to  communi- 
cate with  all.  This  was  the  state  of  things  on  the  arrival  of  the 
Spaniards.  It  must  be  admitted  that  history  furnishes  few 
examples  of  more  absolute  authority  than  such  a revolution  in 
the  language  of  an  empire  at  the  bidding  of  a master.70  . 

70  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  6,  cap.  35  ; lib.  7,  cap.  1,  2. — Ondegardo,  Rel. 
Seg.,  MS. — Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  55. — “Aun  la  Criatura  no  hubiese  dejado 
el  Pecho  de  su  Madre  quando  le  comenzasen  a mostrar  la  Lengua  que  havia  de  saber ; y 
aunque  al  prin^ipio  fue  dificultoso,  e muchos  se  pusieron  en  no  querer  deprender  mas 
lenguas  de  las  suyas  propias,  los  Reyes  pudieron  tanto  que  salieron  con  su  intencion  y elios 
tubieron  por  bien  de  cumplir  su  mandado  y tan  de  veras  se  entendio  en  ello  que  en  tiempo 
de  pocos  anos  se  savia  y usaba  una  lengua  ea  mat  de  mil  y doscientas  Ieguas.”  Ibid., 
cap.  ai. 


chap,  ii.]  MILITARY  TACTICS  AND  POLICY. 


79 


Yet  little  less  remarkable  was  another  device  of  the  Incas  for 
securing  the  loyalty  of  their  subjects.  When  any  portion  of 
the  recent  conquests  showed  a pertinacious  spirit  of  disaffec- 
tion, it  was  not  uncommon  to  cause  a part  of  the  population, 
amounting,  it  might  be,  to  ten  thousand  inhabitants  or  more,  to 
remove  to  a distant  quarter  of  the  kingdom,  occupied  by 
ancient  vassals  of  undoubted  fidelity  to  the  crown.  A like 
number  of  these  last  was  transplanted  to  the  territory  left 
vacant  by  the  emigrants.  By  this  exchange  the  population  was 
composed  of  two  distinct  races,  who  regarded  each  other  with 
an  eye  of  jealousy,  that  served  as  an  effectual  check  on  any 
mutinous  proceeding.  In  time,  the  influence  of  the  well- 
affected  prevailed,  supported  as  they  were  by  royal  authority 
and  by  the  silent  working  of  the  national  institutions,  to  which 
the  strange  races  became  gradually  accustomed.  A spirit  of 
loyalty  sprang  up  by  degrees  in  their  bosoms,  and  before  a gen- 
eration had  passed  away  the  different  tribes  mingled  in  har- 
mony together  as  members  of  the  same  community.71  Yet  the 
different  races  continued  to  be  distinguished  by  difference  of 
dress  ; since,  by  the  law  of  the  land,  every  citizen  was  required 
to  wear  the  costume  of  his  native  province.72  Neither  could 
the  colonist  who  had  been  thus  unceremoniously  transplanted 
return  to  his  native  district.  For,  by  another  law,  it  was  for- 
bidden to  anyone  to  change  his  residence  without  license.78 
He  was  settled  for  life.  The  Peruvian  government  prescribed 
to  every  man  his  local  habitation,  his  sphere  of  action,  nay, 
the  very  nature  and  quality  of  that  action.  He  ceased  to  be 
a free  agent ; it  might  be  almost  said  that  it  relieved  him  of 
personal  responsibility. 

In  following  out  this  singular  arrangement,  the  Incas  showed 
as  much  regard  for  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  the  colonist 
as  was  compatible  with  the  execution  of  their  design.  They 
were  careful  that  the  mitimaes , as  these  emigrants  were  styled, 
should  be  removed  to  climates  most  congenial  with  their  own. 

71  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS. — Fernandez,  Hist,  del  Peru,  Parte  2,  lib.  3,  cap.  11. 

7a  “This  regulation,”  says  Father  Acosta,  “the  Incas  held  to  be  of  great  importance  to 
the  order  and  right  government  of  the  realm.”  Lib.  6,  cap.  16. 

71  Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS. 


8o 


CIVILIZATION’  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  L 


The  inhabitants  of  the  cold  countries  were  not  transplanted  to  the 
warm,  nor  the  inhabitants  of  the  warm  countries  to  the  cold.74 
Even  their  habitual  occupations  were  consulted,  and  the  fisher- 
man was  settled  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  ocean  or  the  great 
lakes,  while  such  lands  were  assigned  to  the  husbandman  as 
were  best  adapted  to  the  culture  with  which  he  was  most 
familiar.75  And,  as  migration  by  many,  perhaps  by  most, 
would  be  regarded  as  a calamity,  the  government  was  careful 
to  show  particular  marks  of  favor  to  the  mitimaes , and,  by 
various  privileges  and  immunities,  to  ameliorate  their  condi- 
tion, and  thus  to  reconcile  them,  if  possible,  to  their  lot.76 

The  Peruvian  institutions,  though  they  may  have  been  mod- 
ified and  matured  under  successive  sovereigns,  all  bear  the 
stamp  of  the  same  original — were  all  cast  in  the  same  mould. 
The  empire,  strengthening  and  enlarging  at  every  successive 
epoch  of  its  history,  was  in  its  latter  days  but  the  development, 
on  a great  scale,  of  what  it  was  in  miniature  at  its  commence- 
ment, as  the  infant  germ  is  said  to  contain  within  itself  all  the 
ramifications  of  the  future  monarch  of  the  forest.  Each  suc- 
ceeding Inca  seemed  desirous  only  to  tread  in  the  path  and 
carry  out  the  plans  of  his  predecessor.  Great  enterprises,  com- 
menced under  one,  were  continued  by  another,  and  completed 
by  a third.  Thus,  while  all  acted  on  a regular  plan,  without 
any  of  the  eccentric  or  retrograde  movements  which  betray  the 
agency  of  different  individuals,  the  state  seemed  to  be  under 
the  direction  of  a single  hand,  and  steadily  pursued,  as  if 
through  one  long  reign,  its  great  career  of  civilization  and  of 
conquest. 

The  ultimate  aim  of  its  institutions  was  domestic  quiet. 
But  it  seemed  as  if  this  were  to  be  obtained  only  by  foreign 
war.  Tranquillity  in  the  heart  of  the  monarchy,  and  war  on 

74  “Trasmutaban  de  las  tales  Provincias  la  cantidad  de  gente  de  que  de  ella  parecia 
convenir  que  saliese,  d los  cuales  mandaban  pasar  d poblar  otra  tierra  del  temple  y manera 
de  donde  salian,  si  fria  fria,  si  caliente  caliente,  en  donde  les  daban  tierras,  y campos,  y 
casas,  tanto,  y mas  como  dejaron.”  Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  19. 

78  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS. 

78  The  descendants  of  these  mitimaes  are  still  to  be  found  in  Quito,  or  were  so  at  the 
close  of  the  last  century,  according  to  Velasco,  distinguished  by  this  name  from  the  rest  of 
the  population.  Hist,  de  Quito,  tom.  i.,  p.  175. 


chap,  ii.]  MILITARY  TACTICS  AND  POLICY. 


8l 


its  borders,  was  the  condition  of  Peru.  By  this  wax  it  gave 
occupation  to  a part  of  its  people,  and,  by  the  reduction  and 
civilization  of  its  barbarous  neighbors,  gave  security  to  all. 
Every  Inca  sovereign,  however  mild  and  benevolent  in  his 
domestic  rule,  was  a warrior,  and  led  his  armies  in  person. 
Each  successive  reign  extended  still  wider  the  boundaries  of 
the  empire.  Year  after  year  saw  the  victorious  monarch  return 
laden  with  spoils,  and  followed  by  a throng  of  tributary  chief- 
tains to  his  capital.  His  reception  there  was  a Roman  tri- 
umph. The  whole  of  its  numerous  population  poured  out  to 
welcome  him,  dressed  in  the  gay  and  picturesque  costumes  of 
the  different  provinces,  with  banners  waving  above  their  heads, 
and  strewing  branches  and  flowers  along  the  path  of  the  con- 
queror. The  Inca,  borne  aloft  in  his  golden  chair  on  the 
shoulders  of  his  nobles,  moved  in  solemn  procession  under  the 
triumphal  arches  that  were  thrown  across  the  way,  to  the  great 
temple  of  the  Sun.  There,  without  attendants— -for  all  but 
the  monarch  were  excluded  from  the  hallowed  precincts — the 
victorious  prince,  stripped  of  his  royal  insignia,  barefooted, 
and  with  all  humility,  approached  the  awful  shrine  and  offered 
up  sacrifice  and  thanksgiving  to  the  glorious  Deity  who  pre- 
sided over  the  fortunes  of  the  Incas.  This  ceremony  con- 
cluded, the  whole  population  gave  itself  up  to  festivity  ; music, 
revelry,  and  dancing  were  heard  in  every  quarter  of  the  capi- 
tal, and  illuminations  and  bonfires  commemorated  the  victo- 
rious campaign  of  the  Inca,  and  the  accession  of  a new  terri- 
tory to  his  empire.77 

In  this  celebration  we  see  much  of  the  character  of  a relig- 
ious festival.  Indeed,  the  character  of  religion  was  impressed 
on  all  the  Peruvian  wars.  The  life  of  an  Inca  was  one  long 
crusade  against  the  infidel,  to  spread  wide  the  worship  of  the 
Sun,  to  reclaim  the  benighted  nations  from  their  brutish  super- 
stitions and  impart  to  them  the  blessings  of  a well-regulated 
government.  This,  in  the  favorite  phrase  of  our  day,  was  the 
“ mission  ” of  the  Inca.  It  was  also  the  mission  of  the  Chris- 

77  Sarmiento,  Relation,  MS.,  cap.  55. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  3,  cap.  xx, 
17  ; lib.  6.  cap.  16. 


82 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  I, 


tian  conqueror  who  invaded  the  empire  of  this  same  Indian  po- 
tentate. Which  of  the  two  executed  his  mission  most  faith- 
fully, history  must  decide. 

Yet  the  Peruvian  monarchs  did  not  show  a childish  impa- 
tience in  the  acquisition  of  empire.  They  paused  after  a 
campaign,  and  allowed  time  for  the  settlement  of  one  conquest 
before  they  undertook  another,  and  in  this  interval  occupied 
themselves  with  the  quiet  administration  of  their  kingdom,  and 
with  the  long  progresses  which  brought  them  into  nearer  inter- 
course with  their  people.  During  this  interval,  also,  their  new 
vassals  had  begun  to  accommodate  themselves  to  the  strange 
institutions  of  their  masters.  They  learned  to  appreciate  the 
value  of  a government  which  raised  them  above  the  physical 
evils  of  a state  of  barbarism,  secured  them  protection  of 
person  and  a full  participation  in  all  the  privileges  enjoyed  by 
their  conquerors ; and,  as  they  became  more  familiar  with  the 
peculiar  institutions  of  the  country,  habit,  that  second  nature, 
attached  them  the  more  strongly  to  these  institutions  from  their 
very  peculiarity.  Thus,  by  degrees,  and  without  violence, 
arose  the  great  fabric  of  the  Peruvian  empire,  composed  of 
numerous  independent  and  even  hostile  tribes,  yet,  under  the 
influence  of  a common  religion,  common  language,  and  com- 
mon government,  knit  together  as  one  nation,  animated  by  a 
spirit  of  love  for  its  institutions  and  devoted  loyalty  to  its  sov- 
ereign. What  a contrast  to  the  condition  of  the  Aztec  mon- 
archy, on  the  neighboring  continent,  which,  composed  of  the 
like  heterogeneous  materials,  without  any  internal  principle  of 
cohesion,  was  only  held  together  by  the  stern  pressure,  from 
without,  of  physical  force ! Why  the  Peruvian  monarchy 
should  have  fared  no  better  than  its  rival  in  its  conflict  with 
European  civilization  will  appear  in  the  following  pages. 


CHAP.  III.] 


PERUVIAN  RELIGION 


«3 


CHAPTER  III. 

Peruvian  Religion. — Deities. — Gorgeous  Temples. — Festivals. — Virgins  of 
the  Sun. — Marriage. 

It  is  a remarkable  fact  that  many,  if  not  most,  of  the  rude 
tribes  inhabiting  the  vast  American  continent,  however  disfig- 
ured their  creeds  may  have  been  in  other  respects  by  a childish 
superstition,  had  attained  to  the  sublime  conception  of  one 
Great  Spirit,  the  Creator  of  the  Universe,  who,  immaterial  in 
his  own  nature,  was  not  to  be  dishonored  by  an  attempt  at 
visible  representation,  and  who,  pervading  all  space,  was  not  to 
be  circumscribed  within  the  walls  of  a temple.  Yet  these  ele- 
vated ideas,  so  far  beyond  the  ordinary  range  of  the  untutored 
intellect,  do  not  seem  to  have  led  to  the  practical  consequences 
that  might  have  been  expected  ; and  few  of  the  American  na- 
tions have  shown  much  solicitude  for  the  maintenance  of  a re- 
ligious worship,  or  found  in  their  faith  a powerful  spring  of 
action. 

But  with  progress  in  civilization  ideas  more  akin  to  those  of 
civilized  communities  were  gradually  unfolded  ; a liberal  pro- 
vision was  made,  and  a separate  order  instituted,  for  the  ser- 
vices of  religion,  which  were  conducted  with  a minute  and 
magnificent  ceremonial,  that  challenged  comparison,  in  some 
respects,  with  that  of  the  most  polished  nations  of  Christendom. 
This  was  the  case  with  the  nations  inhabiting  the  table-land  of 
North  America,  and  with  the  natives  of  Bogota,  Quito,  Peru, 
and  the  other  elevated  regions  on  the  great  southern  continent. 
It  was,  above  all,  the  case  with  the  Peruvians,  who  claimed  a 
divine  original  for  the  founders  of  their  empire,  whose  laws  all 
rested  on  a divine  sanction,  and  whose  domestic  institutions 
and  foreign  wars  were  alike  directed  to  preserve  and  propagate 
their  faith.  Religion  was  the  basis  of  their  polity,  the  very 
condition,  as  it  were,  of  their  social  existence.  The  govern- 
ment of  the  Incas,  in  its  essential  principles,  was  a theocracy. 

Yet,  though  religion  entered  so  largely  into  the  fabric  and 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  fc 


84 

conduct  of  the  political  institutions  of  the  people,  their  mythol- 
ogy, that  is,  the  traditionary  legends  by  which  they  affected 
to  unfold  the  mysteries  of  the  universe,  was  exceedingly  mean 
and  puerile.  Scarce  one  of  their  traditions — except  the  beau- 
tiful one  respecting  the  founders  of  their  royal  dynasty — is 
worthy  of  note,  or  throws  much  light  on  their  own  antiquities 
or  the  primitive  history  of  man.  Among  the  traditions  of  im- 
portance is  one  of  the  deluge,  which  they  held  in  common 
with  so  many  of  the  nations  in  all  parts  of  the  globe,  and 
which  they  related  with  some  particulars  that  bear  resemblance 
to  a Mexican  legend.1 

Their  ideas  in  respect  to  a future  state  of  being  deserve  more 
attention.  They  admitted  the  existence  of  the  soul  hereafter, 
and  connected  with  this  a belief  in  the  resurrection  of  the  body. 
They  assigned  two  distinct  places  for  the  residence  of  the  good 
and  of  the  wicked,  the  latter  of  which  they  fixed  in  the  centre 
of  the  earth.  The  good,  they  supposed,  were  to  pass  a luxu- 
rious life  of  tranquillity  and  ease,  which  comprehended  their 
highest  notions  of  happiness.  The  wicked  were  to  expiate 
their  crimes  by  ages  of  wearisome  labor.  They  associated  with 
these  ideas  a belief  in  an  evil  principle  or  spirit,  bearing  the 
name  of  (Jupay,  whom  they  did  not  attempt  to  propitiate  by 
sacrifices,  and  who  seems  to  have  been  only  a shadowy  per- 
sonification of  sin,  that  exercised  little  influence  over  their 
conduct.2 

It  was  this  belief  in  the  resurrection  of  the  body  which  led 
them  to  preserve  the  body  with  so  much  solicitude — by  a 
simple  process,  however,  that,  unlike  the  elaborate  embalming 
of  the  Egyptians,  consisted  in  exposing  it  to  the  action  of  the 

1 They  related,  that  after  the  deluge,  seven  persons  issued  from  a cave  where  they  had 
saved  themselves,  and  by  them  the  earth  was  repeopled.  One  of  the  traditions  of  the 
Mexicans  deduced  their  descent,  and  that  of  the  kindred  tribes,  in  like  manner,  from  seven 
persons  who  came  from  as  many  caves  in  Aztlan.  (Conf.  Acosta,  lib.  6,  cap.  19  ; lib.  7, 
cap.  2. — Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS.)  The  story  of  the  deluge  is  told  by  different  writers 
with  many  variations,  in  some  of  which  it  is  not  difficult  to  detect  the  plastic  hand  of  the 
Christian  convert. 

2 Ondegardo,  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. — Gomara,  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  cap.  123. — Garcilasso,  Com. 
Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  2,  cap.  2,  7. — One  might  suppose  that  the  educated  Peruvians — if  I 
may  so  speak — imagined  the  common  people  had  no  souls,  so  little  is  said  of  their  opinions 
as  to  the  condition  of  these  latter  in  a future  life,  while  they  are  diffuse  on  the  prospects  of 
Ae  higher  orders,  which  they  fondly  believed  were  to  keep  pace  with  their  condition  here. 


CHAP.  III.] 


PERUVIAN  RELIGION 


as 


cold,  exceedingly  dry,  and  highly  rarefied  atmosphere  of  the 
mountains.3  As  they  believed  that  the  occupations  in  the  fut- 
ure world  would  have  great  resemblance  to  those  of  the  present, 
they  buried  with  the  deceased  noble  some  of  his  apparel,  his 
utensils,  and,  frequently,  his  treasures,  and  completed  the 
gloomy  ceremony  by  sacrificing  his  wives  and  favorite  domes- 
tics, to  bear  him  company  and  do  him  service  in  the  happy 
regions  beyond  the  clouds.4  Vast  mounds  of  an  irregular,  or, 
more  frequently,  oblong  shape,  penetrated  by  galleries  running 
at  right  angles  to  each  other,  were  raised  over  the  dead,  whose 
dried  bodies  or  mummies  have  been  found  in  considerable 
numbers,  sometimes  erect,  but  more  often  in  the  sitting  posture 
common  to  the  Indian  tribes  of  both  continents.  Treasures  of 
great  value  have  also  been  occasionally  drawn  from  these  monu- 
mental deposits,  and  have  stimulated  speculators  to  repeated 
excavations  with  the  hope  of  similar  good  fortune.  It  was  a 
lottery  like  that  of  searching  after  mines,  but  where  the  chances 
have  proved  still  more  against  the  adventurers. 6 

The  Peruvians,  like  so  many  other  of  the  Indian  races,  ac- 
knowledged a Supreme  Being,  the  Creator  and  Ruler  of  the 
Universe,  whom  they  adored  under  the  different  names  of 
Pachacamac  and  Viracocha.6  No  temple  was  raised  to  this 
invisible  Being,  save  one  only  in  the  valley  which  took  its 

3 Such,  indeed,  seems  to  be  the  opinion  of  Garcilasso,  though  some  writers  speak  of 
resinous  and  other  applications  for  embalming  the  body.  The  appearance  of  the  royal 
mummies  found  at  Cuzco,  as  reported  both  by  Ondegardo  and  Garcilasso,  makes  it  proba- 
ble that  no  foreign  substance  was  employed  for  their  preservation. 

4 Ondegardo,  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. — The  Licentiate  says  that  this  usage  continued  even  after 
the  Conquest,  and  that  he  had  saved  the  life  of  more  than  one  favorite  domestic  who  had 
fled  to  him  for  protection,  as  they  were  about  to  be  sacrificed  to  the  manes  of  their  deceased 
lords.  Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 

5 Yet  these  sepulchral  mines  have  sometimes  proved  worth  the  digging.  Sarmiento 
speaks  of  gold  to  the  value  of  100,000  Castellanos  as  occasionally  buried  with  the  Indian 
lords  (Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  57);  and  Las  Casas — not  the  best  authority  in  numerical  esti- 
mates—says  that  treasures  worth  more  than  half  a million  of  ducats  had  been  found  within 
twenty  years  after  the  Conquest,  in  the  tombs  near  Truxillo.  (CEuvres,  ed.  Llorente  (Paris, 
1822),  tom.  ii. , p.  192.)  Baron  Humboldt  visited  the  sepulchre  of  a Peruvian  prince,  in  the 
same  quarter  of  the  country,  whence  a Spaniard  in  1576  drew  forth  a mass  of  gold  worth  a 
million  of  dollars  ! Vues  des  Cordillferes,  p.  29. 

8 Pachacamac  signifies  “He  who  sustains  or  gives  life  to  the  universe.”  The  name  of 
the  great  deity  is  sometimes  expressed  by  both  Pachacamac  and  Viracocha  combined. 
(See  Balboa,  Hist,  du  P^rou,  chap.  6. — Acosta,  lib.  6,  cap.  21.)  An  old  Spaniard  finds  in 
the  popular  meaning  of  Viracocha , “ foam  of  the  sea,”  an  argument  for  deriving  the  Peru" 
vian  civilization  from  some  voyager  from  the  Old  World.  Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS. 


86 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  I. 


name  from  the  deity  himself,  not  far  from  the  Spanish  city  of 
Lima.  Even  this  temple  had  existed  there  before  the  country 
came  under  the  sway  of  the  Incas,  and  was  the  great  resort 
of  Indian  pilgrims  from  remote  parts  of  the  land — a circum- 
stance which  suggests  the  idea  that  the  worship  of  this  Great 
Spirit,  though  countenanced,  perhaps,  by  their  accommodating 
policy,  did  not  originate  with  the  Peruvian  Princes.7 

The  deity  whose  worship  they  especially  inculcated,  and 
which  they  never  failed  to  establish  wherever  their  banners 
were  known  to  penetrate,  was  the  Sun.  It  was  he  who,  in  a 
particular  manner,  presided  over  the  destinies  of  man;  gave 
light  and  warmth  to  the  nations,  and  life  to  the  vegetable 
world ; whom  they  reverenced  as  the  father  of  their  royal 
dynasty,  the  founder  of  their  empire  ; and  whose  temples  rose 
in  every  city  and  almost  every  village  throughout  the  land, 
while  his  altars  smoked  with  burnt-offerings — a form  of  sacri- 
fice peculiar  to  the  Peruvians  among  the  semi -civilized  nations 
of  the  New  World.8 

Besides  the  Sun,  the  Incas  acknowledged  various  objects  of 
worship  in  some  way  or  other  connected  with  this  principal 
deity.  Such  was  the  Moon,  his  sister-wife ; the  Stars,  revered 
as  part  of  her  heavenly  train — though  the  fairest  of  them, 
Venus,  known  to  the  Peruvians  by  the  name  of  Chasca,  or  the 
“ youth  with  the  long  and  curling  locks,”  was  adored  as  the 
page  of  the  Sun,  whom  he  attends  so  closely  in  his  rising  and 
in  his  setting.  They  dedicated  temples  also  to  the  Thunder 
and  Lightning,®  in  whom  they  recognized  the  Sun’s  dread 

7 Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  27. — Ulloa 
notices  the  extensive  ruins  of  brick  which  mark  the  probable  site  of  the  temple  of  Pachaca- 
mac,  attesting  by  their  present  appearance  its  ancient  magnificence  and  strength. 
M^moires  philosophiques,  historiques,  physiques  (Paris,  1787),  trad.  Fr.,  p.  78. 

8 At  least,  so  says  Dr.  McCulloh ; and  no  better  authority  can  be  required  on  American 
antiquities.  (Researches,  p.  392.)  Might  he  not  have  added  barbarous  nations,  also? 

9 Thunder,  Lightning,  and  Thunderbolt  could  be  all  expressed  by  the  Peruvians  in  one 

word,  Illaj>a.  Hence  some  Spaniards  have  inferred  a knowledge  of  the  Trinity  in  the 
natives  ! “ The  Devil  stole  all  he  could,”  exclaims  Herrera,  with  righteous  indignation. 

(Hist,  general,  dec.  5,  lib.  4,  cap.  5.)  These,  and  even  rasher  conclusions  (see  Acosta,  lib. 
5,  cap.  28),  are  scouted  by  Garcilasso,  as  inventions  of  Indian  converts,  willing  to  please 
the  imaginations  of  their  Christian  teachers.  (Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  2,  cap.  5,  6 ; lib. 
3,  cap.  21.)  Imposture  on  the  one  hand,  and  credulity  on  the  other,  have  furnished  a 
plentiful  harvest  of  absurdities,  which  has  been  diligently  gathered  in  by  the  pious  anti* 
quary  of  a later  generation. 


DEITIES . 


CHAP.  III.] 


87 


ministers,  and  to  the  Rainbow,  whom  they  worshipped  as  a 
beautiful  emanation  of  their  glorious  deity.10 

In  addition  to  these,  the  subjects  of  the  Incas  enrolled 
among  their  inferior  deities  many  objects  in  nature,  as  the 
elements,  the  winds,  the  earth,  the  air,  great  mountains  and 
rivers,  which  impressed  them  with  ideas  of  sublimity  and 
power,  or  were  supposed  in  some  way  or  other  to  exercise  a 
mysterious  influence  over  the  destinies  of  man.11  They  adopted 
also  a notion,  not  unlike  that  professed  by  some  of  the  schools 
of  ancient  philosophy,  that  everything  on  earth  had  its  arche- 
type or  idea,  its  mother , as  they  emphatically  styled  it,  which 
they  held  sacred,  as,  in  some  sort,  its  spiritual  essence.13  But 
their  system,  far  from  being  limited  even  to  these  multiplied 
objects  of  devotion,  embraced  within  its  ample  folds  the  nu- 
merous deities  of  the  conquered  nations,  whose  images  were 
transported  to  the  capital,  where  the  burdensome  charges  of 
their  worship  were  defrayed  by  their  respective  provinces.  It 
was  a rare  stroke  of  policy  in  the  Incas,  who  could  thus  accom- 
modate their  religion  to  their  interests.13 

10  Garcilasso’s  assertion  that  these  heavenly  bodies  were  objects  of  reverence  as  holy 
things,  but  not  of  worship  (Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  2,  cap.  1,  23),  is  contradicted  by  Onde- 
gardo,  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. — Dec.  de  la  Aud.  Real.,  MS. — Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  5,  lib. 
4,  cap.  4 — Gomara,  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  cap.  121 — and,  I might  add,  ‘by  almost  every 
writer  of  authority  whom  I have  consulted.  It  is  contradicted,  in  a manner,  by  the  admis- 
sion of  Garcilasso  himself,  that  these  several  objects  were  all  personified  by  the  Indians  as 
living  beings,  and  had  temples  dedicated  to  them  as  such,  with  their  effigies  delineated  in 
the  same  manner  as  was  that  of  the  Sun  in  his  dwelling.  Indeed,  the  effort  of  the  historian 
to  reduce  the  worship  of  the  Incas  to  that  of  the  Sun  alone  is  not  very  reconcilable  with 
what  he  elsewhere  says  of  the  homage  paid  to  Pachacamac,  above  all,  and  to  Rimac,  the 
great  oracle  of  the  common  people.  The  Peruvian  mythology  was,  probably,  not  unlike 
that  of  Hindostan,  where,  under  two,  or  at  most  three,  principal  deities,  were  assembled  a 
host  of  inferior  ones,  to  whom  the  nation  paid  religious  homage,  as  personifications  of  the 
different  objects  in  nature. 

11  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. — These  consecrated  objects  were  termed  huacas—a. 
word  of  most  prolific  import ; since  it  signified  a temple,  a tomb,  any  natural  object  re- 
markable for  its  size  or  shape,  in  short,  a cloud  of  meanings,  which  by  their  contradictory 
sense  have  thrown  incalculable  confusion  over  the  writings  of  historians  and  travellers. 

12  “La  orden  por  donde  fundavan  sus  huacas  que  ellos  llama  van  a las  Idolatrias  hera 
porque  decian  que  todas  criava  el  sol  i que  les  dava  madre  por  madre  que  mostravan  A la 
tierra,  porque  decian  que  tenia  madre,  i tenian  Id  echo  su  vulto  i sus  adoratorios,  i al  fuego 
decian  que  tambien  tenia  madre  i al  mais  i A las  otras  sementeras  i A las  ovejas  iganado 
decian  que  tenian  madre,  i A la  chocha  ques  elbrevaje  que  ellos  usan  decian  que  el  vinagre 
della  hera  la  madre  i lo  reverenciavan  i llamavan  mama  agua  madre  del  vinagre,  i A cada 
cosa  adoravan  destas  de  su  manera.”  Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS. 

13  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — So  it  seems  to  have  been  regarded  by  the 
Licentiate  Ondegardo  : “ E los  Idolos  estaban  en  aq1  galpon  grande  de  la  casa  del  Sol,  y 


88 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


tBOOK  I. 


But  the  worship  of  the  Sun  constituted  the  peculiar  care  of 
the  Incas,  and  was  the  object  of  their  lavish  expenditure.  The 
most  ancient  of  the  many  temples  dedicated  to  this  divinity 
was  in  the  island  of  Titicaca,  whence  the  royal  founders 
of  the  Peruvian  line  were  said  to  have  proceeded.  From  this 
circumstance,  this  sanctuary  was  held  in  peculiar  veneration. 
Everything  which  belonged  to  it,  even  the  broad  fields  of 
maize  which  surrounded  the  temple  and  formed  part  of  its  do- 
main, imbibed  a portion  of  its  sanctity.  The  yearly  produce 
was  distributed  among  the  different  public  magazines,  in  small 
quantities  to  each,  as  something  that  would  sanctify  the  re- 
mainder of  the  store.  Happy  was  the  man  who  could  secure 
even  an  ear  of  the  blessed  harvest  for  his  own  granary ! 14 
But  the  most  renowned  of  the  Peruvian  temples,  the  pride 
of  the  capital,  and  the  wonder  of  the  empire,  was  at  Cuzco, 
where,  under  the  munificence  of  successive  sovereigns,  it  had 
become  so  enriched  that  it  received  the  name  of  Coricancha , 
or  “ the  Place  of  Gold.”  It  consisted  of  a principal  building 
and  several  chapels  and  inferior  edifices,  covering  a large  ex- 
tent of  ground  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  and  completely  encom- 
passed by  a wall,  which,  with  the  edifices,  was  all  constructed 
of  stone.  The  work  was  of  the  kind  already  described  in  the 
other  public  buildings  of  the  country,  and  was  so  finely  exe- 
cuted that  a Spaniard  who  saw  it  in  its  glory  assures  us  he  could 
call  to  mind  only  two  edifices  in  Spain  which,  for  their  work- 
manship, were  at  all  to  be  compared  with  it.15  Yet  this  substan- 


cada  Idolo  destos  tenia  su  servicio  y gastos  y mugeres,  y en  la  casa  del  Sol  le  iban  k hacer 
reverencia  los  que  venian  de  su  provincial  para  lo  qual  6 sacrifices  que  se  hacian  proveian 
de  su  misma  tierra  ordinaria  e muy  abundantemente  por  la  misma  orden  que  lo  hacian 
quando  estaba  en  la  misma  provincia,  que  daba  gran  autoridad  a mi  parecer  e aun  fuerza 
k estos  Ingas  que  cierto  me  causo  gran  admiracion.”  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. 

14  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  3,  cap.  25. 

18  “ Tenia  este  Templo  en  circuito  mas  de  quatro  cientos  pasos,  todo  cercado  de  una 
muralla  fuerte,  labrado  todo  el  edificio  de  cantera  muy  excelente  de  fina  piedra,  muy  bien 
puesta  y asentada,  y algunas  piedras  eran  muy  grandes  y soberbias,  no  tenian  mezcla  de 
tierra  ni  cal,  sino  con  el  betun  que  ellos  suelen  hacer  sus  edificios,  y estan  tan  bien  labradas 
estas  piedras  que  no  se  las  parece  mezcla  ni  juntura  ninguna.  En  toda  Espana  no  he  visto 
cosa  que  pueda  comparar  a estas  paredes  y postura  de  piedra,  sino  a la  torre  que  llaman  la 
Calahorra  que  esta  junto  con  la  puente  de  Cordoba,  y k una  obra  que  vi  en  Toledo,  cuande 
fui  k presentar  la  primera  parte  de  mi  Cronica  al  Principe  D“  Felipe.”  Sarmiento,  Rela« 
cion,  MS.,  cap.  24. 


GORGEOUS  TEMPLES . 


CHAP.  III.] 


89 


tial  and,  in  some  respects,  magnificent,  structure  was  thatched 
with  straw  ! 

The  interior  of  the  temple  was  the  most  worthy  of  admira- 
ration.  It  was  literally  a mine  of  gold.  On  the  western  wall 
was  emblazoned  a representation  of  the  deity,  consisting  of  a 
human  countenance  looking  forth  from  amidst  innumerable 
rays  of  light,  which  emanated  from  it  in  every  direction,  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  sun  is  often  personified  with  us.  The 
figure  was  engraved  on  a massive  plate  of  gold  of  enormous  di- 
mensions, thickly  powdered  with  emeralds  and  precious  stones.16 
It  was  so  situated  in  front  of  the  great  eastern  portal  that  the 
rays  of  the  morning  sun  fell  directly  upon  it  at  its  rising, 
lighting  up  the  whole  apartment  with  an  effulgence  that  seemed 
more  than  natural,  and  which  was  reflected  back  from  the 
golden  ornaments  with  which  the  walls  and  ceiling  were  every- 
where incrusted.  Gold,  in  the  figurative  language  of  the 
people,  was  “ the  tears  wept  by  the  sun,”  17  and  every  part  of 
the  interior  of  the  temple  glowed  with  burnished  plates  and 
studs  of  the  precious  metal.  The  cornices  which  surrounded 
the  walls  of  the  sanctuary  were  of  the  same  costly  material ; 
and  a broad  belt  or  frieze  of  gold,  let  into  the  stone-work,  en- 
compassed the  whole  exterior  of  the  edifice.18 

Adjoining  the  principal  structure  were  several  chapels  of 
smaller  dimensions.  One  of  them  was  consecrated  to  the 
Moon,  the  deity  held  next  in  reverence,  as  the  mother  of  the 
Incas.  Her  effigy  was  delineated  in  the  same  manner  as  that 
of  the  Sun,  on  a vast  plate  that  nearly  covered  one  side  of  the 
apartment.  But  this  plate,  as  well  as  all  the  decorations  of  the 
building,  was  of  silver,  as  suited  to  the  pale,  silvery  light  of 
the  beautiful  planet.  There  were  three  other  chapels,  one  of 


l6Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS. — Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap.  44,  92. — “La  figura  del 
Sol,  muy  grande,  hecha  de  oro  obrada  muy  primamente  engastonada  en  muchas  piedras 
ricas.”  Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  24. 

17  “ I al  oro  asimismo  decian  que  era  lagrimas  que  el  Sol  llorava.”  Conq.  i Pob.  del 
Piru,  MS. 

18  Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  24. — Antig.  y Monumentos  del  Piru,  MS. — “ Cercada 
junto  d la  techumbre  de  una  plancha  de  oro  de  palmo  i medio  de  ancho  i Io  mismo  tenian 
por  de  dentro  en  cada  bohio  6 casa  i aposento.”  (Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS.)  “Tenia 
una  cinta  de  planchas  de  oro  de  anchor  de  mas  de  un  palmo  enlazadas  en  las  piedras.” 
Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 


90 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  L 


which  was  dedicated  to  the  host  of  Stars,  who  formed  the 
bright  court  of  the  Sister  of  the  Sun  ; another  was  consecrated 
to  his  dread  ministers  of  vengeance,  the  Thunder  and  the 
Lightning;  and  a third,  to  the  Rainbow,  whose  many-col- 
ored arch  spanned  the  walls  of  the  edifice  with  hues  almost 
as  radiant  as  its  own.  There  were,  besides,  several  other 
buildings,  or  insulated  apartments,  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  numerous  priests  who  officiated  in  the  services  of  the 
temple.19 

All  the  plate,  the  ornaments,  the  utensils  of  every  descrip- 
tion, appropriated  to  the  uses  of  religion,  were  of  gold  or 
silver.  Twelve  immense  vases  of  the  latter  metal  stood  on  the 
floor  of  the  great  saloon,  filled  with  grain  of  the  Indian  corn  ;90 
the  censers  for  the  perfumes,  the  ewers  which  held  the  water 
for  sacrifice,  the  pipes  which  conducted  it  through  subterrane- 
ous channels  into  the  buildings,  the  reservoirs  that  received  it, 
even  the  agricultural  implements  used  in  the  gardens  of  the 
temple,  were  all  of  the  same  rich  materials.  The  gardens,  like 
those  described  belonging  to  the  royal  palaces,  sparkled  with 
flowers  of  gold  and  silver,  and  various  imitations  of  the  vege- 
table kingdom.  Animals,  also,  were  to  be  found  there — among 
which  the  llama,  with  its  golden  fleece,  was  most  conspicuous 
— executed  in  the  same  style,  and  with  a degree  of  skill  which, 
in  this  instance,  probably,  did  not  surpass  the  excellence  of  the 
material.21 

19  Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap  24.— Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  3,  cap.  21.— 
Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 

20  “ El  bulto  del  Sol  tenian  mui  grande  de  oro,  i todo  el  servicio  desta  casa  era  de  plata 
i oro,  i tenian  doze  horones  de  plata  blanca  que  dos  hombres  no  abrazarian  cada  uno  qua- 
drados,  i eran  mas  altos  que  una  buena  pica  donde  hechavan  el  maiz  que  havian  de  dar  al 
Sol,  segun  ellos  decian  que  comiese.”  Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS. — The  original,  as  the 
Spanish  reader  perceives,  says  each  of  these  silver  vases  or  bins  was  as  high  as  a good 
lance,  and  so  large  that  two  men  with  outspread  arms  could  barely  encompass  them  ! As 
this  might  perhaps  embarrass  even  the  most  accommodating  faith,  I have  preferred  not  to 
become  responsible  for  any  particular  dimensions. 

91  Levinus  Apollonius,  fol.  38. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  3,  cap.  24. — Pedro 
Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq,,  MS. — “Tenian  un  Jardin  que  los  Terrones  eran  pedazos  de  oro 
fino  y estaban  artificiosamente  sembrado  de  maizales  los  quales  eran  oro  asi  las  Canas  de 
ello  como  las  ojas  y mazorcas,  y estaban  tan  bien  plantados  que  aunque  hiciesen  recios 
bientos  no  se  arrancaban.  Sin  todo  esto  tenian  hechas  mas  de  veinte  obejas  de  oro  con  sus 
Corderos  y los  Pastores  con  sus  ondas  y cayados  que  las  guardaban  hecho  de  este  metal  ; 
havia  mucha  cantidad  de  Tinajas  de  oro  y de  Plata  y esmeraldas,  vasos,  ollas  y todo  gen- 


CHAP.  III.] 


GORGEOUS  TEMPLES. 


91 


If  the  reader  sees  in  this  fairy  picture  only  the  romantic  col- 
oring of  some  fabulous  El  Dorado , he  must  recall  what  has 
been  said  before  in  reference  to  the  palaces  of  the  Incas,  and 
consider  that  these  “ Houses  of  the  Sun,”  as  they  were  styled, 
were  the  common  reservoir  into  which  flowed  all  the  streams 
of  public  and  private  benefaction  throughout  the  empire.  Some 
of  the  statements,  through  credulity,  and  others,  in  the  desire 
of  exciting  admiration,  may  be  greatly  exaggerated  ; but  in 
the  coincidence  of  contemporary  testimony  it  is  not  easy  to 
determine  the  exact  line  which  should  mark  the  measure  of  our 
scepticism.  Certain  it  is  that  the  glowing  picture  I have  given 
is  warranted  by  those  who  saw  these  buildings  in  their  pride, 
or  shortly  after  they  had  been  despoiled  by  the  cupidity  of  their 
countrymen.  Many  of  the  costly  articles  were  buried  by  the 
natives,  or  thrown  into  the  waters  of  the  rivers  and  the  lakes ; 
but  enough  remained  to  attest  the  unprecedented  opulence  of 
these  religious  establishments.  Such  things  as  were  in  their 
nature  portable  were  speedily  removed,  to  gratify  the  craving 
of  the  Conquerors,  who  even  tore  away  the  solid  cornices  and 
frieze  of  gold  from  the  great  temple,  filling  the  vacant  places 
with  the  cheaper,  but — since  it  affords  no  temptation  to  avarice 
— more  durable,  material  of  plaster.  Yet  even  thus  shorn  of 
their  splendor  the  venerable  edifices  still  presented  an  attraction 
to  the  spoiler,  who  found  in  their  dilapidated  walls  an  inex- 
haustible quarry  for  the  erection  of  other  buildings.  On  the 
very  ground  once  crowned  by  the  gorgeous  Coricancha  rose  the 
stately  church  of  St.  Dominic,  one  of  the  most  magnificent 
structures  of  the  New  World.  Fields  of  maize  and  lucerne  now 
bloom  on  the  spot  which  glowed  with  the  golden  gardens  of  the 
temple ; and  the  friar  chants  his  orisons  within  the  consecrated 
precincts  once  occupied  by  the  Children  of  the  Sun.22 

Besides  the  great  temple  of  the  Sun,  there  was  a large  num- 
ber of  inferior  temples  and  religious  houses  in  the  Peruvian 
capital  and  its  environs,  amounting,  as  is  stated,  to  three  or 

ero  de  vasijas  todo  de  oro  fino  ; por  otras  Paredes  tenian  esculpidas  y piotadas  otras  may- 
ores  cosas,  en  fin  era  uno  de  los  ricos  Templos  que  hubo  en  el  mundo.”  Sarmienta,  Rela- 
tion, MS.,  cap.  24. 

98  Miller’s  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  223,  224. 


92 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  i. 


four  hundred.33  For  Cuzco  was  a sanctified  spot,  venerated 
not  only  as  the  abode  of  the  Incas,  but  of  all  those  deities  who 
presided  over  the  motley  nations  of  the  empire.  It  was  the 
city  beloved  of  the  Sun ; where  his  worship  was  maintained  in 
its  splendor;  “ where  every  fountain,  pathway,  and  wall,”  says 
an  ancient  chronicler,  “ was  regarded  as  a holy  mystery.”  24 
And  unfortunate  was  the  Indian  noble  who,  at  some  period  or 
other  of  his  life,  had  not  made  his  pilgrimage  to  the  Peruvian 
Mecca. 

Other  temples  and  religious  dwellings  were  scattered  over  the 
provinces,  and  some  of  them  constructed  on  a scale  of  magni- 
ficence that  almost  rivalled  that  of  the  metropolis.  The  at- 
tendants on  these  composed  an  army  of  themselves.  The 
whole  number  of  functionaries,  including  those  of  the  sacerdo- 
tal order,  who  officiated  at  the  Coricancha  alone,  was  no  less 
than  four  thousand.26 

At  the  head  of  all,  both  here  and  throughout  the  land, 
stood  the  great  High-Priest,  or  Villac  Vmu,  as  he  was  called. 
He  was  second  only  to  the  Inca  in  dignity,  and  was  usually 
chosen  from  his  brothers  or  nearest  kindred.  He  was  appointed 
by  the  monarch,  and  held  his  office  for  life ; and  he,  in  turn, 
appointed  to  all  the  subordinate  stations  of  his  own  order. 
This  order  was  very  numerous.  Those  members  of  it  who 
officiated  in  the  House  of  the  Sun,  in  Cuzco,  were  taken  ex- 
clusively from  the  sacred  race  of  the  Incas.  The  ministers  in 
the  provincial  temples  were  drawn  from  the  families  of  the  cu- 
racas  ; but  the  office  of  high-priest  in  each  district  was  reserved 
for  one  of  the  blood  royal.  It  was  designed  by  this  regulation 
to  preserve  the  faith  in  its  purity,  and  to  guard  against  any 

23  Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  5,  lib.  4,  cap.  8. — “ Havia  en  aquella  ciudad  y legua  y 
media  de  la  redonda  quatrocientos  y tantos  lugares,  donde  se  hacian  sacrificios,  y se  gas* 
tava  mucha  suma  de  hacienda  en  ellos.”  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS. 

•24  <<  Que  aquella  ciudad  del  Cuzco  era  casa  y morada  de  Dioses,  e ansi  no  habia  en  toda 
ella  fuente  ni  paso  ni  pared  que  n6  dixesen  que  tenia  misterio.”  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Seg., 
MS. 

29  Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS. — An  army,  indeed,  if,  as  Cieza  de  Leon  states,  the  num- 
ber of  priests  and  menials  employed  in  the  famous  temple  of  Bilcas,  on  the  route  to  Chili, 
amounted  to  40,000  ! (Cronica,  cap.  89.)  Everything  relating  to  these  Houses  of  the  Sun 
appears  to  have  been  on  a grand  scale.  But  we  may  easily  believe  this  a clerical  error  for 
4«ooo. 


chap,  hi.]  SA  CERDOTA L ORDER.  93 

departure  from  the  stately  ceremonial  which  it  punctiliously 
prescribed.26 

The  sacerdotal  order,  though  numerous,  was  not  distin- 
guished by  any  peculiar  badge  or  costume  from  the  rest  of  the 
nation.  Neither  was  it  the  sole  depository  of  the  scanty 
science  of  the  country,  nor  was  it  charged  with  the  business  of 
instruction,  nor  with  those  parochial  duties,  if  they  may  so  be 
called,  which  bring  the  priest  in  contact  with  the  great  body 
of  the  people — as  was  the  case  in  Mexico.  The  cause  of  this 
peculiarity  may  probably  be  traced  to  the  existence  of  a superior 
order,  like  that  of  the  Inca  nobles,  whose  sanctity  of  birth  so 
far  transcended  all  human  appointments  that  they  in  a man- 
ner engrossed  whatever  there  was  of  religious  veneration  in 
the  people.  They  were,  in  fact,  the  holy  order  of  the  state. 
Doubtless,  any  of  them  might,  as  very  many  of  them  did,  take 
on  themselves  the  sacerdotal  functions ; and  their  own  insignia 
and  peculiar  privileges  were  too  well  understood  to  require  any 
further  badge  to  separate  them  from  the  people. 

The  duties  of  the  priest  were  confined  to  ministration  in  the 
temple.  Even  here  his  attendance  was  not  constant,  as  he  was 
relieved  after  a stated  interval  by  other  brethren  of  his  order, 
who  succeeded  one  another  in  regular  rotation.  His  science 
was  limited  to  an  acquaintance  with  the  fasts  and  festivals  of 
his  religion,  and  the  appropriate  ceremonies  which  distin- 
guished them.  This,  however  frivolous  might  be  its  character, 
was  no  easy  acquisition ; for  the  ritual  of  the  Incas  involved 
a routine  of  observances  as  complex  and  elaborate  as  ever  dis- 
tinguished that  of  any  nation,  whether  pagan  or  Christian. 
Each  month  had  its  appropriate  festival,  or  rather  festivals. 
The  four  principal  had  reference  to  the  Sun,  and  commemo- 
rated the  great  periods  of  his  annual  progress,  the  solstices  and 
equinoxes.  Perhaps  the  most  magnificent  of  all  the  national 
solemnities  was  the  feast  of  Raymi,  held  at  the  period  of  the 

,0  Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  27. — Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS. — It  was  only  while 
the  priests  were  engaged  in  the  service  of  the  temples  that  they  were  maintained,  according 
to  Garcilasso,  from  the  estates  of  the  Sun.  At  other  times  they  were  to  get  their  support 
from  their  own  lands,  which,  if  he  is  correct,  were  assigned  to  them  in  the  same  manner  as 
to  the  other  orders  of  the  nation.  Com.  Real.,  Parte  z,  lib.  5,  cap.  8. 


94 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  u 


summer  solstice,  when  the  Sun,  having  touched  the  southern 
extremity  of  his  course,  retraced  his  path,  as  if  to  gladden  the 
hearts  of  his  chosen  people  by  his  presence.  On  this  occasion 
the  Indian  nobles  from  the  different  quarters  of  the  country 
thronged  to  the  capital  to  take  part  in  the  great  religious  cele- 
bration. 

For  three  days  previous,  there  was  a general  fast,  and  no 
fire  was  allowed  to  be  lighted  in  the  dwellings.  When  the 
appointed  day  arrived,  the  Inca  and  his  court,  followed  by  the 
whole  population  of  the  city,  assembled  at  early  dawn  in  the 
great  square  to  greet  the  rising  of  the  Sun.  They  were  dressed 
in  their  gayest  apparel,  and  the  Indian  lords  vied  with  each 
other  in  the  display  of  costly  ornaments  and  jewels  on  their 
persons,  while  canopies  of  gaudy  feather -work  and  richly  tinted 
stuffs,  borne  by  the  attendants  over  their  heads,  gave  to  the 
great  square,  and  the  streets  that  emptied  into  it,  the  appear- 
ance of  being  spread  over  with  one  vast  and  magnificent  awn- 
ing. Eagerly  they  watched  the  coming  of  their  deity,  and  no 
sooner  did  his  first  yellow  rays  strike  the  turrets  and  loftiest 
buildings  of  the  capital  than  a shout  of  gratulation  broke  forth 
from  the  assembled  multitude,  accompanied  by  songs  of  triumph 
and  the  wild  melody  of  barbaric  instruments,  that  swelled 
louder  and  louder  as  his  bright  orb,  rising  above  the  mountain 
range  toward  the  east,  shone  in  full  splendor  on  his  votaries. 
After  the  usual  ceremonies  of  adoration,  a libation  was  offered 
to  the  great  deity  by  the  Inca,  from  a huge  golden  vase,  filled 
with  the  fermented  liquor  of  maize  or  of  maguey,  which,  after 
the  monarch  had  tasted  it  himself,  he  dispensed  among  his 
royal  kindred.  These  ceremonies  completed,  the  vast  assembly 
was  arranged  in  order  of  procession  and  took  its  way  toward 
the  Coricancha.37 

As  they  entered  the  street  of  the  sacred  edifice,  all  divested 
themselves  of  their  sandals,  except  the  Inca  and  his  family, 
who  did  the  same  on  passing  through  the  portals  of  the  temple, 

87  Dec.  de  la  Aud.  Real.,  MS. — Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  27. — The  reader  will 
find  a brilliant,  and  not  very  extravagant,  account  of  the  Peruvian  festivals  in  Marmontel’s 
romance  of  Les  Incas.  The  French  author  saw  in  their  gorgeous  ceremonial  a fitting  in- 
troduction to  his  own  literary  pageant.  Tom.  *.,  chap.  1-4. 


CHAP.  III.  J 


FESTIVALS. 


95 


where  none  but  these  august  personages  were  admitted. 88  After 
a decent  time  spent  in  devotion,  the  sovereign,  attended  by 
his  courtly  train,  again  appeared,  and  preparations  were  made 
to  commence  the  sacrifice.  This,  with  the  Peruvians,  con- 
sisted of  animals,  grain,  flowers,  and  sweet-scented  gums — 
sometimes  of  human  beings,  on  which  occasions  a child  or  beau- 
tiful maiden  was  usually  selected  as  the  victim.  But  such  sac- 
rifices were  rare,  being  reserved  to  celebrate  some  great  public 
event,  as  a coronation,  the  birth  of  a royal  heir,  or  a great 
victory.  They  were  never  followed  by  those  cannibal  repasts 
familiar  to  the  Mexicans  and  to  many  of  the  fierce  tribes  con- 
quered by  the  Incas.  Indeed,  the  conquests  of  these  princes 
might  well  be  deemed  a blessing  to  the  Indian  nations,  if  it 
were  only  from  their  suppression  of  cannibalism,  and  the  dimi- 
nution, under  their  rule,  of  human  sacrifices.29 

At  the  feast  of  Raymi,  the  sacrifice  usually  offered  was  that 
of  the  llama  ; and  the  priest,  after  opening  the  body  of  his  vic- 
tim, sought  in  the  appearances  which  it  exhibited  to  read  the 
lesson  of  the  mysterious  future.  If  the  auguries  were  unpropi- 
tious,  a second  victim  was  slaughtered,  in  the  hope  of  receiving 
some  more  comfortable  assurance.  The  Peruvian  augur  might 
have  learned  a good  lesson  of  the  Roman — to  consider  every 
omen  as  favorable  which  served  the  interests  of  his  country.30 

28  “ Ningun  Indio  comun  osaba  pasar  por  la  calle  del  Sol  calzado ; ni  ninguno,  aunque 
fuese  mui  grand  Senor,  entrava  en  las  casas  del  Sol  con  zapatos.”  Conq.  i Pob . del  Piru, 
MS. 

29  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega  flatly  denies  that  the  Incas  were  guilty  of  human  sacrifices,  and 
maintains,  on  the  other  hand,  that  they  uniformly  abolished  them  in  every  country  they 
subdued,  where  they  had  previously  existed.  (Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  2,  cap.  9,  et  alibi.) 
But  in  this  material  fact  he  is  unequivocally  contradicted  by  Sarmiento,  Relation,  MS., 
cap.  22. — Dec.  de  la  Aud.  Real.,  MS. — Montesinos,  Mem.  antiguas,  MS.,  lib.  2,  cap.  8. — 
Balboa,  Hist,  du  Perou,  chap.  5,  8.— Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap.  72. — Ondegardo,  Re!. 
Seg.,  MS.— Acosta,  lib.  5,  cap.  19— and  I might  add,  I suspect,  were  I to  pursue  the  in- 
quiry, by  nearly  every  ancient  writer  of  authority  ; some  of  whom,  having  come  into  the 
country  soon  after  the  Conquest,  while  its  primitive  institutions  were  in  vigor,  are  entitled 
to  more  deference  in  a matter  of  this  kind  than  Garcilasso  himself.  It  was  natural  that  the 
descendant  of  the  Incas  should  desire  to  relieve  his  race  from  so  odious  an  imputation  ; and 
we  must  have  charity  for  him  if  he  does  show  himself  on  some  occasions,  where  the  honor 
of  his  country  is  at  stake,  “ high  gravel  blind.”  It  should  be  added,  in  justice  to  the 
Peruvian  government,  that  the  best  authorities  concur  in  the  admission  that  the  sacrifices 
were  few,  both  in  number  and  in  magnitude,  being  reserved  for  such  extraordinary  occa- 
sions as  those  mentioned  in  the  text. 

30  “ Augurque  cum  esset,  dicere  ausus  est,  optimis  auspiciis  ea  geri,  quae  pro  reipublicae 
salute  gererentur.”  (Cicero,  De  Senectute.) — This  inspection  of  the  entrails  of  animals  fox 


96  CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS.  [book  i. 

A fire  was  then  kindled  by  means  of  a concave  mirror  of 
polished  metal,  which,  collecting  the  rays  of  the  sun  into  a 
focus  upon  a quantity  of  dried  cotton,  speedily  set  it  on  fire. 
It  was  the  expedient  used  on  the  like  occasions  in  ancient 
Rome,  at  least  under  the  reign  of  the  pious  Numa.  When 
the  sky  was  overcast,  and  the  face  of  the  good  deity  was  hid- 
den from  his  worshippers,  which  was  esteemed  a bad  omen, 
fire  was  obtained  by  means  of  friction.  The  sacred  flame  was 
intrusted  to  the  care  of  the  Virgins  of  the  Sun ; and  if,  by  any 
neglect,  it  was  suffered  to  go  out  in  the  course  of  the  year,  the 
event  was  regarded  as  a calamity  that  boded  some  strange  dis- 
aster to  the  monarchy.31  A burnt-offering  of  the  victims  was 
then  made  on  the  altars  of  the  deity.  This  sacrifice  was  but 
the  prelude  to  the  slaughter  of  a great  number  of  llamas,  part 
of  the  flocks  of  the  Sun,  which  furnished  a banquet  not  only 
for  the  Inca  and  his  court,  but  for  the  people,  who  made 
amends  at  these  festivals  for  the  frugal  fare  to  which  they  were 
usually  condemned.  A fine  bread  or  cake,  kneaded  of  maize 
flour  by  the  fair  hands  of  the  Virgins  of  the  Sun,  was  also 
placed  on  the  royal  board,  where  the  Inca,  presiding  over  the 
feast,  pledged  his  great  nobles  in  generous  goblets  of  the  fer- 
mented liquor  of  the  country,  and  the  long  revelry  of  the  day 
was  closed  at  night  by  music  and  dancing.  Dancing  and 
drinking  were  the  favorite  pastimes  of  the  Peruvians.  These 
amusements  continued  for  several  days,  though  the  sacrifices 
terminated  on  the  first.  Such  was  the  great  festival  of  Raymi ; 
and  the  recurrence  of  this  and  similar  festivities  gave  relief  to 
the  monotonous  routine  of  toil  prescribed  to  the  lower  orders 
of  the  community.33 

In  the  distribution  of  bread  and  wine  at  this  high  festival, 


the  purposes  of  divination  is  worthy  of  note,  as  a most  rare,  if  not  a solitary,  instance  of 
the  kind  among  the  nations  of  the  New  World,  though  so  familiar  in  the  ceremonial  of  sac- 
rifice among  the  pagan  nations  of  the  Old. 

31  “ Vigilemque  sacraverat  ignem, 

Excubias  divum  aeternas.” 

Plutarch,  in  his  life  of  Numa,  describes  the  reflectors  used  by  the  Romans  for  kindling  the 
sacred  fire,  as  concave  instruments  of  brass,  though  not  spherical  like  the  Peruvian,  but  of 
a triangular  form. 

88  Acosta,  lib.  5,  cap.  28,  20. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  6,  cap.  23. 


CHAP.  III.] 


VIRGINS  OF  THE  SUN 


97 


the  orthodox  Spaniards  who  first  came  into  the  country  saw  a 
striking  resemblance  to  the  Christian  communion ; 33  as  in  the 
practice  of  confession  and  penance,  which,  in  a most  irregular 
form  indeed,  seems  to  have  been  used  by  the  Peruvians,  they 
discerned  a coincidence  with  another  of  the  sacraments  of  the 
Church.34  The  good  fathers  were  fond  of  tracing  such  co- 
incidences, which  they  considered  as  the  contrivance  of  Satan, 
who  thus  endeavored  to  delude  his  victims  by  counterfeiting 
the  blessed  rites  of  Christianity.36  Others,  in  a different  vein, 
imagined  that  they  saw  in  such  analogies  the  evidence  that 
some  of  the  primitive  teachers  of  the  gospel,  perhaps  an  apostle 
himself,  had  paid  a visit  to  these  distant  regions  and  scattered 
over  them  the  seeds  of  religious  truth.36  But  it  seems  hardly 
necessary  to  invoke  the  Prince  of  Darkness,  or  the  intervention 
of  the  blessed  saints,  to  account  for  coincidences  which  have 
existed  in  countries  far  removed  from  the  light  of  Christianity, 
and  in  ages,  indeed,  when  its  light  had  not  yet  risen  on  the 
world.  It  is  much  more  reasonable  to  refer  such  casual  points 
of  resemblance  to  the  general  constitution  of  man  and  the 
necessities  of  his  moral  nature. 37 


33  “ That  which  is  most  admirable  in  the  hatred  and  presumption  of  Sathan  is,  that  he 
not  only  counterfeited  in  idolatry  and  sacrifices,  but  also  in  certain  ceremonies,  our  sacra- 
ments, which  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  instituted,  and  the  holy  Church  uses,  having  especially 
pretended  to  imitate,  in  some  sort,  the  sacrament  of  the  communion,  which  is  the  most  high 
and  divine  of  all  others.”  Acosta,  lib.  5,  cap.  23. 

34  Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  5,  lib.  4,  cap.  4.— Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS. — “The 
father  of  lies  would  likewise  counterfeit  the  sacrament  of  Confession,  and  in  his  idolatries 
sought  to  be  honored  with  ceremonies  very  like  to  the  manners  of  Christians.”  Acosta,  lib. 
5,  cap.  25. 

35  Cieza  de  Leon,  not  content  with  many  marvellous  accounts  of  the  influence  and  real 
apparition  of  Satan  in  the  Indian  ceremonies,  has  garnished  his  volume  with  numerous 
wood-cuts  representing  the  Prince  of  Evil  in  bodily  presence,  with  the  usual  accompani- 
ments of  tail,  claws,  etc. , as  if  to  re-enforce  the  homilies  in  his  text ! The  Peruvian  saw  in 
his  idol  a god.  His  Christian  conqueror  saw  in  it  the  Devil.  One  may  be  puzzled  to  de- 
cide which  of  the  two  might  lay  claim  to  the  grossest  superstition. 

36  Piedrahita,  the  historian  of  the  Muyscas,  is  satisfied  that  this  apostle  must  have  been 
St.  Bartholomew,  whose  travels  were  known  to  have  been  extensive.  (Conq.  de  Granada, 
Parte  1,  lib.  1,  cap.  3.)  The  Mexican  antiquaries  consider  St.  Thomas  as  having  had  charge 
of  the  mission  to  the  people  of  Anahuac.  These  two  apostles,  then,  would  seem  to  have 
divided  the  New  World,  at  least  the  civilized  portions  of  it,  between  them.  How  they  came, 
whether  by  Behring’s  Straits,  or  directly  across  the  Atlantic,  we  are  not  informed.  Velasco 
— a writer  of  the  eighteenth  century  ! — has  little  doubt  that  they  did  really  come.  Hist,  de 
Quito,  tom.  i.,  pp.  89,  90. 

37  The  subject  is  illustrated  by  some  examples  in  the  “ History  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico,” 


98 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  I. 


Another  singular  analogy  with  Roman  Catholic  institutions 
is  presented  by  the  Virgins  of  the  Sun,  the  “ elect,”  as  they 
were  called,38  to  whom  I have  already  had  occasion  to  refer. 
These  were  young  maidens,  dedicated  to  the  service  of  the 
deity,  who,  at  a tender  age,  were  taken  from  their  homes  and 
introduced  into  convents,  where  they  were  placed  under  the 
care  of  certain  elderly  matrons,  mamaconas , who  had  grown 
gray  within  their  walls.30  Under  these  venerable  guides  the 
holy  virgins  were  instructed  in  the  nature  of  their  religious 
duties.  They  were  employed  in  spinning  and  embroidery, 
and,  with  the  fine  hair  of  the  vicuna,  wove  the  hangings  for 
the  temples,  and  the  apparel  for  the  Inca  and  his  household.40 
It  was  their  duty,  above  all,  to  watch  over  the  sacred  fire  ob- 
tained at  the  festival  of  Raymi.  From  the  moment  they  en- 
tered the  establishment,  they  were  cut  off  from  all  connection 
with  the  world,  even  with  their  own  family  and  friends.  No 
one  but  the  Inca,  and  the  Coya  or  queen,  might  enter  the  con- 
secrated precincts.  The  greatest  attention  was  paid  to  their 
morals,  and  visitors  were  sent  every  year  to  inspect  the  insti- 
tutions and  to  report  on  the  state  of  their  discipline.42  Woe  to 
the  unhappy  maiden  who  was  detected  in  an  intrigue  ! By  the 
stern  law  of  the  Incas,  she  was  to  be  buried  alive,  her  lover  was 
to  be  strangled,  and  the  town  or  village  to  which  he  belonged 
was  to  be  razed  to  the  ground,  and  “ sowed  with  stones,”  as 
if  to  efface  every  memorial  of  his  existence.42  One  is  aston- 


vol.  iii.,  Appendix  No.  i ; since  the  same  usages  in  that  country  led  to  precisely  the  same 
rash  conclusions  among  the  Conquerors. 

38  “ Llamavase  Casa  de  Escogidas  ; porque  las  escogian,  6 por  Linage,  6 por  Hermosura.” 
Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  4,  cap.  1. 

89  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS. — The  word  mamacona  signified  “matron  ; ” mama , the 
first  half  of  this  compound  word,  as  already  noticed,  meaning  “ mother.”  See  Garcilasso, 
Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  4,  cap.  1.  40  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 

41  Dec.  de  la  Aud.  Real.,  MS. 

42  Balboa,  Hist,  du  P^rou,  chap.  9. — Fernandez,  Hist,  del  Peru,  Parte  2,  lib.  3,  cap.  zi. 
— Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  4,  cap.  3. — According  to  the  historian  of  the  Incas, 
the  terrible  penalty  was  never  incurred  by  a single  lapse  on  the  part  of  the  fair  sisterhood  ; 
though,  if  it  had  been,  the  sovereign,  he  assures  us,  would  have  “ exacted  it  to  the  letter, 
with  as  little  compunction.as  he  would  have  drowned  a puppy.”  (Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib. 
4,  cap.  3.)  Other  writers  contend,  on  the  contrary,  that  these  Virgins  had  very  little  claim 
to  the  reputation  of  Vestals.  (See  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Gomara,  Hist, 
de  las  Ind.,  cap.  121.)  Such  imputations  are  common  enough  on  the  inhabitants  of  reli- 
gious houses,  whether  pagan  or  Christian.  They  are  contradicted  in  the  present  instance 


CHAP.  III.] 


VIRGINS  OF  THE  SUN. 


99 


ished  to  find  so  close  a resemblance  between  the  institutions  of 
the  American  Indian,  the  ancient  Roman,  and  the  modern 
Catholic  ! Chastity  and  purity  of  life  are  virtues  in  woman 
that  would  seem  to  be  of  equal  estimation  with  the  barbarian 
and  with  the  civilized.  Yet  the  ultimate  destination  of  the  in- 
mates of  these  religious  houses  was  materially  different. 

The  great  establishment  at  Cuzco  consisted  wholly  of  maid- 
ens of  the  royal  blood,  who  amounted,  it  is  said,  to  no  less 
than  fifteen  hundred.  The  provincial  convents  were  supplied 
from  the  daughters  of  the  curacas  and  inferior  nobles,  and  oc- 
casionally, where  a girl  was  recommended  by  great  personal  at- 
tractions from  the  lower  classes  of  the  people.48  The  “ Houses 
of  the  Virgins  of  the  Sun  ’ ’ consisted  of  low  ranges  of  stone 
buildings,  covering  a large  extent  of  ground,  surrounded  by 
high  walls,  which  excluded  those  within  entirely  from  observa- 
tion. They  were  provided  with  every  accommodation  for  the 
fair  inmates,  and  were  embellished  in  the  same  sumptuous  and 
costly  manner  as  the  palaces  of  the  Incas,  and  the  temples  ; for 
they  received  the  particular  care  of  the  government,  as  an  im- 
portant part  of  the  religious  establishment.44 

Yet  the  career  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  these  cloisters  was 
not  confined  within  their  narrow  walls.  Though  Virgins  of 
the  Sun,  they  were  brides  of  the  Inca,  and  at  a marriageable 
age  the  most  beautiful  among  them  were  selected  for  the  honors 
of  his  bed  and  transferred  to  the  royal  seraglio.  The  full  com- 
plement of  this  amounted  in  time  not  only  to  hundreds,  but 
thousands,  who  all  found  accommodations  in  his  different 
palaces  throughout  the  country.  When  the  monarch  was  dis- 
posed to  lessen  the  number  of  his  establishment,  the  concubine 
with  whose  society  he  was  willing  to  dispense  returned,  not  to 
her  former  monastic  residence,  but  to  her  own  home ; where, 
however  humble  might  be  her  original  condition,  she  was 
maintained  in  great  state,  and,  far  from  being  dishonored  by 

by  the  concurrent  testimony  of  most  of  those  who  had  the  best  opportunity  of  arriving  at 
truth,  and  are  made  particularly  improbable  by  the  superstitious  reverence  entertained  for 
the  Incas. 

43  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  4,  cap.  1. 

44  Ibid.,  Parte  1,  lib.  4,  cap.  5. — Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap.  44. 

Peru  5 Vol.  1 


100 


CIVILIZATION’  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  I. 


the  situation  she  had  filled,  was  held  in  universal  reverence  as 
the  Inca’s  bride.46 

The  great  nobles  of  Peru  were  allowed,  like  their  sovereign, 
a plurality  of  wives.  The  people,  generally,  whether  by  law, 
or  by  necessity  stronger  than  law,  were  more  happily  limited  to 
one.  Marriage  was  conducted  in  a manner  that  gave  it  quite  as 
original  a character  as  belonged  to  the  other  institutions  of  the 
country.  On  an  appointed  day  of  the  year,  all  those  of  a mar- 
riageable age— which,  having  reference  to  their  ability  to  take 
charge  of  a family,  in  the  males  was  fixed  at  not  less  than 
twenty-four  years,  and  in  the  women  at  eighteen  or  twenty — 
were  called  together  in  the  great  squares  of  their  respective 
towns  and  villages,  throughout  the  empire.  The  Inca  pre- 
sided in  person  over  the  assembly  of  his  own  kindred,  and, 
taking  the  hands  of  the  different  couples  who  were  to  be  united, 
he  placed  them  within  each  other,  declaring  the  parties  man  and 
wife.  The  same  was  done  by  the  curacas  toward  all  persons 
of  their  own  or  inferior  degree  in  their  several  districts.  This 
was  the  simple  form  of  marriage  in  Peru.  No  one  was  allowed 
to  select  a wife  beyond  the  community  to  which  he  belonged, 
which  generally  comprehended  all  his  own  kindred  ; 46  nor  was 
any  but  the  sovereign  authorized  to  dispense  with  the  law  of 
nature — or,  at  least,  the  usual  law  of  nations — so  far  as  to  marry 
his  own  sister.47  No  marriage  was  esteemed  valid  without  the 
consent  of  the  parents  ; and  the  preference  of  the  parties,  it  is 
said,  was  also  to  be  consulted  ; though,  considering  the  bar- 
riers imposed  by  the  prescribed  age  of  the  candidates,  this  must 
have  been  within  rather  narrow  and  whimsical  limits.  A 
dwelling  was  got  ready  for  the  new-married  pair  at  the  charge 
of  the  district,  and  the  prescribed  portion  of  land  assigned  for 

46  Dec.  de  la  Aud.  Real.,  MS. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  4,  cap.  4. — Mon- 
tesinos,  Mem.  antiguas,  MS.,  lib.  2,  cap.  19. 

44  By  the  strict  letter  of  the  law,  according  to  Garcilasso,  no  one  was  to  marry  out  of  his 
own  lineage.  But  this  narrow  rule  had  a most  liberal  interpretation,  since  all  of  the  same 
town,  and  even  province,  he  assures  us,  were  reckoned  of  kin  to  one  another.  Com.,  Real., 
Parte  1,  lib.  4,  cap.  8. 

47  Fernandez,  Hist,  del  Peru,  Parte  2,  lib.  3,  cap.  9. — This  practice,  so  revolting  to  our 
feelings  that  it  might  well  be  deemed  to  violate  the  law  of  nature,  must  not,  however,  be  re- 
garded as  altogether  peculiar  to  the  Incas,  since  it  was  countenanced  by  some  of  the  most 
polished  nations  of  antiquity. 


CHAP.  IV.] 


EDUCATION. 


101 


their  maintenance.  The  law  of  Peru  provided  for  the  future, 
as  well  as  for  the  present.  It  left  nothing  to  chance.  The 
simple  ceremony  of  marriage  was  followed  by  general  festivities 
among  the  friends  of  the  parties,  which  lasted  several  days ; 
and  as  every  wedding  took  place  on  the  same  day,  and  as  there 
were  few  families  who  had  not  some  one  of  their  members  or 
their  kindred  personally  interested,  there  was  one  universal 
bridal  jubilee  throughout  the  empire.48 

The  extraordinary  regulations  respecting  marriage  under  the 
Incas  are  eminently  characteristic  of  the  genius  of  the  govern- 
ment ; which,  far  from  limiting  itself  to  matters  of  public  con- 
cern, penetrated  into  the  most  private  recesses  of  domestic  life, 
allowing  no  man,  however  humble,  to  act  for  himself,  even 
in  those  personal  matters  in  which  none  but  himself,  or  his 
family  at  most,  might  be  supposed  to  be  interested.  No  Peru- 
vian was  too  low  for  the  fostering  vigilance  of  government. 
None  was  so  high  that  he  was  not  made  to  feel  his  depend- 
ence upon  it  in  every  act  of  his  life.  His  very  existence  as  an 
individual  was  absorbed  in  that  of  the  community.  His  hopes 
and  his  fears,  his  joys  and  his  sorrows,  the  tenderest  sympathies 
of  his  nature,  which  would  most  naturally  shrink  from  observa- 
tion, were  all  to  be  regulated  by  law.  He  was  not  allowed 
even  to  be  happy  in  his  own  way.  The  government  of  the  In- 
cas was  the  mildest,  but  the  most  searching,  of  despotisms. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Education. — Quipus.  — Astronomy.  — Agricul  ture.  — Aqueducts.  — Guano. 

— Important  Esculents. 

“ Science  was  not  intended  for  the  people,  but  for  those  of 
generous  blood.  Persons  of  low  degree  are  only  puffed  up  by 
it,  and  rendered  vain  and  arrogant.  Neither  should  such  med- 
dle with  the  affairs  of  government ; for  this  would  bring  high 

48  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  6,  cap.  36. — Dec, 
de  la  Aud.  Real,,  MS. — Montesinos,  Mem.  antiguas,  MS.,  lib.  2,  cap.  6. 


102 


CIVILIZATION'  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  I. 


offices  into  disrepute,  and  cause  detriment  to  the  state.”  1 
Such  was  the  favorite  maxim,  often  repeated,  of  Tupac  Inca 
Yupanqui,  one  of  the  most  renowned  of  the  Peruvian  sover- 
eigns. It  may  seem  strange  that  such  a maxim  should  ever 
have  been  proclaimed  in  the  New  World,  where  popular  insti- 
tutions have  been  established  on  a more  extensive  scale  than 
was  ever  before  witnessed ; where  government  rests  wholly  on 
the  people,  and  education — at  least  in  the  great  northern  divis- 
ion of  the  continent — is  mainly  directed  to  qualify  the  people 
for  the  duties  of  government.  Yet  this  maxim  was  strictly 
conformable  to  the  genius  of  the  Peruvian  monarchy,  and  may 
serve  as  a key  to  its  habitual  policy ; since,  while  it  watched 
with  unwearied  solicitude  over  its  subjects,  provided  for  their 
physical  necessities,  was  mindful  of  their  morals,  and  showed, 
throughout,  the  affectionate  concern  of  a parent  for  his  chil- 
dren, it  yet  regarded  them  only  as  children,  who  were  never 
to  emerge  from  the  state  of  pupilage,  to  act  or  to  think  for 
themselves,  but  whose  whole  duty  was  comprehended  in  the 
obligation  of  implicit  obedience. 

Such  was  the  humiliating  condition  of  the  people  under  the 
Incas,  while  the  numerous  families  of  the  blood  royal  enjoyed 
the  benefit  of  all  the  light  of  education  which  the  civilization 
of  the  country  could  afford,  and  long  after  the  Conquest  the 
spots  continued  to  be  pointed  out  where  the  seminaries  had  ex- 
isted for  their  instruction.  These  were  placed  under  the  care 
of  the  amautas , or  “wise  men,”  who  engrossed  the  scanty 
stock  of  science — if  science  it  could  be  called — possessed  by  the 
Peruvians,  and  who  were  the  sole  teachers  of  youth.  It  was 
natural  that  the  monarch  should  take  a lively  interest  in  the 
instruction  of  the  young  nobility,  his  own  kindred.  Several  of 
the  Peruvian  princes  are  said  to  have  built  their  palaces  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  schools,  in  order  that  they  might  the  more 
easily  visit  them  and  listen  to  the  lectures  of  the  amautas, 

1 “ No  es  licito,  que  ensenen  k los  hijos  de  los  Plebeios,  las  Ciencias,  que  pertenescen  k 
los  Generosos,  y no  mas  ; porque  como  Gente  baja,  no  se  eleven,  y ensobervezcan,  y me- 
noscaben,  y apoquen  la  Republica : bastales,  que  aprendan  los  Oficios  de  sus  Padres  ; que 
el  Mandar,  y Governar  no  es  de  Plebeios,  que  es  hacer  agravio  al  Oficio,  y k la  Republica, 
encomendarsela  a Gente  comun,”  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  8,  cap.  8. 


CHAP.  IV.] 


QUIP  US. 


103 


which  they  occasionally  re-enforced  by  a homily  of  their  own.2 3 
In  these  schools  the  royal  pupils  were  instructed  in  all  the  differ- 
ent kinds  of  knowledge  in  which  their  teachers  were  versed,  with 
especial  reference  to  the  stations  they  were  to  occupy  in  after- 
life. They  studied  the  laws,  and  the  principles  of  administer- 
ing the  government,  in  which  many  of  them  were  to  take  part. 
They  were  initiated  in  the  peculiar  rites  of  their  religion  most 
necessary  to  those  who  were  to  assume  the  sacerdotal  functions. 
They  learned  also  to  emulate  the  achievements  of  their  royal 
ancestors  by  listening  to  the  chronicles  compiled  by  the  amau- 
tas.  They  were  taught  to  speak  their  own  dialect  with  purity 
and  elegance ; and  they  became  acquainted  with  the  mysteri- 
ous science  of  the  quipus,  which  supplied  the  Peruvians  with 
the  means  of  communicating  their  ideas  to  one  another,  and  of 
transmitting  them  to  future  generations. 8 

The  quipu  was  a cord  about  two  feet  long,  composed  of  dif- 
ent-colored  threads  tightly  twisted  together,  from  which  a 
quantity  of  smaller  threads  were  suspended  in  the  manner  of  a 
fringe.  The  threads  were  of  different  colors,  and  were  tied 
into  knots.  The  word  quipu , indeed,  signifies  a knot . The 

colors  denoted  sensible  objects ; as,  for  instance,  white  repre- 
sented silver , and  yellow,  gold.  They  sometimes  also  stood 
for  abstract  ideas.  Thus,  white  signified  peace , and  red , war. 
But  the  quipus  were  chiefly  used  for  arithmetical  purposes. 
The  knots  served  instead  of  ciphers,  and  could  be  combined  in 
such  a manner  as  to  represent  numbers  to  any  amount  they  re- 
quired. By  means  of  these  they  went  through  their  calcula- 
tions with  great  rapidity,  and  the  Spaniards  who  first  visited 
the  country  bear  testimony  to  their  accuracy.4 * 

Officers  were  established  in  each  of  the  districts,  who,  under 
the  title  of  quipucamayus , or  “keepers  of  the  quipus,”  were 
required  to  furnish  the  government  with  information  on  various 


2 Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  7,  cap.  10. — The  descendant  of  the  Incas  notices 
the  remains,  visible  in  his  day,  of  two  of  the  palaces  of  his  royal  ancestors,  which  had  been 
built  in  the  vicinity  of  the  schools,  for  more  easy  access  to  them. 

3 Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  4,  cap.  19. 

4 Conquista  i Poblacion  del  Piru,  MS. — Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  9. — Acosta,  lib, 

6,  cap.  8. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  6,  cap.  8. 


104 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  I. 


important  matters.  One  had  charge  of  the  revenues,  reported 
the  quantity  of  raw  material  distributed  among  the  laborers, 
the  quality  and  quantity  of  the  fabrics  made  from  it,  and  the 
amount  of  stores,  of  various  kinds,  paid  into  the  royal  maga- 
zines. Another  exhibited  the  register  of  births  and  deaths,  the 
marriages,  the  number  of  those  qualified  to  bear  arms,  and  the 
like  details  in  reference  to  the  population  of  the  kingdom. 
These  returns  were  annually  forwarded  to  the  capital,  where 
they  were  submitted  to  the  inspection  of  officers  acquainted 
with  the  art  of  deciphering  these  mystic  records.  The  gov- 
ernment was  thus  provided  with  a valuable  mass  of  statistical 
information,  and  the  skeins  of  many-colored  threads,  collected 
and  carefully  preserved,  constituted  what  might  be  called  the 
national  archives.5 

But,  although  the  quipus  sufficed  for  all  the  purposes  of 
arithmetical  computation  demanded  by  the  Peruvians,  they 
were  incompetent  to  represent  the  manifold  ideas  and  images 
which  are  expressed  by  writing.  Even  here,  however,  the  in- 
vention was  not  without  its  use.  For,  independently  of  the 
direct  representation  of  simple  objects,  and  even  of  abstract 
ideas,  to  a very  limited  extent,  as  above  noticed,  it  afforded 
great  help  to  the  memory  by  way  of  association.  The  peculiar 
knot  or  color,  in  this  way,  suggested  what  it  could  not  ven- 
ture to  represent ; in  the  same  manner — to  borrow  the  homely 
illustration  of  an  old  writer — as  the  number  of  the  Command- 
ment calls  to  mind  the  Commandment  itself.  The  quipus, 
thus  used,  might  be  regarded  as  the  Peruvian  system  of  mne- 
monics. 

Annalists  were  appointed  in  each  of  the  principal  communi- 
ties, whose  business  it  was  to  record  the  most  important  events 

5 Ondegardo  expresses  his  astonishment  at  the  variety  of  objects  embraced  by  these 
simple  records,  “ hardly  credible  by  one  who  had  not  seen  them.”  “ En  aquella  ciudad  se 
hallaron  muchos  viejos  oficiales  antiguos  del  Inga,  asi  de  la  religion,  como  del  Govierno,  y 
otra  cosa  que  no  pudiera  creer  sino  la  viera,  que  por  hilos  y nudos  se  hallan  figuradas  las 
leyes,  y estatutos  asi  de  lo  uno  como  de  lo  otro,  y las  sucesiones  de  los  Reyes  y tiempo  que 
governaron  : y hallose  lo  que  todo  esto  tenian  a su  cargo  que  no  fue  poco,  y aun  tube  alguna 
claridad  de  los  estatutos  que  en  tiempo  de  cada  uno  se  havian  puesto.”  (Rel.  Prim.,  MS.) 
(See  also  Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  9. — Acosta,  lib.  6,  cap.  8. — Garcilasso,  Parte  1, 
lib.  6,  cap.  8,  9.)  A vestige  of  the  quipus  is  still  to  be  found  in  some  parts  of  Peru,  where 
the  shepherds  keep  the  tallies  of  their  numerous  flocks  by  means  of  this  ancient  arithmetic. 


CHAP.  IV.] 


QUIP  US. 


105 


which  occurred  in  them.  Other  functionaries  of  a higher  char- 
acter, usually  the  amautas,  were  intrusted  with  the  history  of 
the  empire,  and  were  selected  to  chronicle  the  great  deeds  of 
the  reigning  Inca,  or  of  his  ancestors.6  The  narrative  thus 
concocted,  could  be  communicated  only  by  oral  tradition  ; but 
the  quipus  served  the  chronicler  to  arrange  the  incidents  with 
method  and  to  refresh  his  memory.  The  story,  once  treasured 
up  in  the  mind,  was  indelibly  impressed  there  by  frequent  rep- 
etition. It  was  repeated  by  the  amauta  to  his  pupils,  and  in 
this  way  history,  conveyed  partly  by  oral  tradition  and  partly 
by  arbitrary  signs,  was  handed  down  from  generation  to  gen- 
eration, with  sufficient  discrepancy  of  details,  but  with  a gener- 
al conformity  of  outline  to  the  truth. 

The  Peruvian  quipus  were,  doubtless,  a wretched  substitute 
for  that  beautiful  contrivance,  the  alphabet,  which,  employing 
a few  simple  characters  as  the  representatives  of  sounds  instead 
of  ideas,  is  able  to  convey  the  most  delicate  shades  of  thought 
that  ever  passed  through  the  mind  of  man.  The  Peruvian  in- 
vention, indeed,  was  far  below  that  of  the  hieroglyphics,  even 
below  the  rude  picture-writing  of  the  Aztecs;  for  the  latter 
art,  however  incompetent  to  convey  abstract  ideas,  could  de- 
pict sensible  objects  with  tolerable  accuracy.  It  is  an  evidence 
of  the  total  ignorance  in  which  the  two  nations  remained  of 
each  other,  that  the  Peruvians  should  have  borrowed  nothing 
of  the  hieroglyphical  system  of  the  Mexicans,  and  this,  not- 
withstanding that  the  existence  of  the  maguey-plant,  agave,  in 
South  America,  might  have  furnished  them  with  the  very 
material  used  by  the  Aztecs  for  the  construction  of  their 
maps.7 

It  is  impossible  to  contemplate  without  interest  the  struggles 
made  by  different  nations,  as  they  emerge  from  barbarism,  to 
supply  themselves  with  some  visible  symbol  of  thought — that 
mysterious  agency  by  which  the  mind  of  the  individual  may 

6 Garcilafsso,  ubi  supra. 

7 Garcilasso,  ubi  supra. — Dec.  de  la  Aud.  Real.,  MS. — Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap. 
9. — Yet  the  quipus  must  be  allowed  to  bear  some  resemblance  to  the  belts  of  wampum — 
made  of  colored  beads  strung  together — in  familiar  use  among  the  North  American  tribes 
for  commemorating  treaties,  and  for  other  purposes. 


IO 6 CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS.  [book  i. 

be  put  in  communication  with  the  minds  of  a whole  commu- 
nity. The  want  of  such  a symbol  is  itself  the  greatest  impedi- 
ment to  the  progress  of  civilization.  For  what  is  it  but  to 
imprison  the  thought,  which  has  the  elements  of  immortality, 
within  the  bosom  of  its  author,  or  of  the  small  circle  who  come 
in  contact  with  him,  instead  of  sending  it  abroad  to  give  light 
to  thousands  and  to  generations  yet  unborn  ! Not  only  is  such 
a symbol  an  essential  element  of  civilization,  but  it  may  be 
assumed  as  the  very  criterion  of  civilization  ; for  the  intel- 
lectual advancement  of  a people  will  keep  pace  pretty  nearly 
with  its  facilities  for  intellectual  communication. 

Yet  we  must  be  careful  not  to  underrate  the  real  value  of 
the  Peruvian  system,  nor  to  suppose  that  the  quipus  were  as 
awkward  an  instrument  in  the  hand  of  a practised  native  as 
they  would  be  in  ours.  We  know  the  effect  of  habit  in  all 
mechanical  operations,  and  the  Spaniards  bear  constant  testi- 
mony to  the  adroitness  and  accuracy  of  the  Peruvians  in  this. 
Their  skill  is  not  more  surprising  than  the  facility  with  which 
habit  enables  us  to  master  the  contents  of  a printed  page,  com- 
prehending thousands  of  separate  characters,  by  a single  glance, 
as  it  were,  though  each  character  must  require  a distinct  recog- 
nition by  the  eye,  and  that,  too,  without  breaking  the  chain 
of  thought  in  the  reader’s  mind.  We  must  not  hold  the  in- 
vention of  the  quipus  too  lightly,  when  we  reflect  that  they 
supplied  the  means  of  calculation  demanded  for  the  affairs  of  a 
great  nation,  and  that,  however  insufficient,  they  afforded  no 
little  help  to  what  aspired  to  the  credit  of  literary  composi- 
tion. 

The  office  of  recording  the  national  annals  was  not  wholly 
confined  to  the  amautas.  It  was  assumed  in  part  by  the  hara- 
vecs,  or  poets,  who  selected  the  most  brilliant  incidents  for 
their  songs  or  ballads,  which  were  chanted  at  the  royal  festi- 
vals and  at  the  table  of  the  Inca.8  In  this  manner  a body  of 

8 Dec.  de  la  Aud.  Real.,  MS. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  2,  cap.  27. — The 
word  haravec  signified  “inventor”  or  “finder;  ” and  in  his  title,  as  well  as  in  his  func- 
tions, the  minstrel  poet  may  remind  us  of  the  Norman  trouvhre.  Garcilasso  has  translated 
one  of  the  little  lyrical  pieces  of  his  countrymen.  It  is  light  and  lively  ; but  one  short  speci- 
men affords  no  basis  for  general  criticism. 


CHAP.  IV.] 


QUIP  US. 


107 


traditional  minstrelsy  grew  up,  like  the  British  and  Spanish 
ballad  poetry,  by  means  of  which  the  name  of  many  a rude 
chieftain,  that  might  have  perished  for  want  of  a chronicler, 
has  been  borne  down  the  tide  of  rustic  melody  to  later  genera- 
tions. 

Yet  history  may  be  thought  not  to  gain  much  by  this  alli- 
ance with  poetry  \ for  the  domain  of  the  poet  extends  over  an 
ideal  realm  peopled  with  the  shadowy  forms  of  fancy  that 
bear  little  resemblance  to  the  rude  realities  of  life.  The  Peru- 
vian annals  may  be  deemed  to  show  somewhat  of  the  effects  of 
this  union,  since  there  is  a tinge  of  the  marvellous  spread  over 
them  down  to  the  very  latest  period,  which,  like  a mist  before 
the  reader’s  eye,  makes  it  difficult  to  distinguish  between  fact 
and  fiction. 

The  poet  found  a convenient  instrument  for  his  purposes  in 
the  beautiful  Quichua  dialect.  We  have  already  seen  the 
extraordinary  measures  taken  by  the  Incas  for  propagating 
their  language  throughout  their  empire.  Thus  naturalized  in 
the  remotest  provinces,  it  became  enriched  by  a variety  of  ex- 
otic words  and  idioms,  which,  under  the  influence  of  the  court 
and  of  poetic  culture,  if  I may  so  express  myself,  was  gradually 
blended,  like  some  finished  mosaic  made  up  of  coarse  and  dis- 
jointed materials,  into  one  harmonious  whole.  The  Quichua 
became  the  most  comprehensive  and  various,  as  well  as  the 
most  elegant,  of  the  South  American  dialects.9 

Besides  the  compositions  already  noticed,  the  Peruvians,  it 
is  said,  showed  some  talent  for  theatrical  exhibitions ; not 

* Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS. — Sarmiento  justly  laments  that  his  countrymen  should 
have  suffered  this  dialect,  which  might  have  proved  so  serviceable  in  their  intercourse  with 
the  motley  tribes  of  the  empire,  to  fall  so  much  out  of  use  as  it  has  done  : “ Y con  tanto 
digo  que  fu6  harto  beneficio  para  los  Espanoles  haver  esta  lengua,  pues  podian  con  ella 
andar  por  todas  partes  en  algunas  de  las  quales  ya  se  va  perdiendo.”  Relacion,  MS.,  cap. 
2i. — According  to  Velasco,  the  Incas,  on  arriving  with  their  conquering  legions  at  Quito, 
were  astonished  to  find  a dialect  of  the  Quichua  spoken  there,  although  it  was  unknown 
over  much  of  the  intermediate  country  ; a singular  fact,  if  true.  (Hist,  de  Quito,  tom.  i., 
p.  185).  The  author,  a native  of  that  country,  had  access  to  some  rare  sources  of  informa- 
tion ; and  his  curious  volumes  show  an  intimate  analogy  between  the  science  and  social 
institutions  of  the  people  of  Quito  and  Peru.  Yet  his  book  betrays  an  obvious  anxiety  to 
set  the  pretensions  of  his  own  country  in  the  most  imposing  point  of  view,  and  he  frequently 
hazards  assertions  with  a confidence  that  is  not  well  calculated  to  secure  that  of  his 
leaders. 


io8 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  i. 


those  barren  pantomimes  which,  addressed  simply  to  the  eye, 
have  formed  the  amusement  of  more  than  one  rude  nation. 
The  Peruvian  pieces  aspired  to  the  rank  of  dramatic  composi- 
tions, sustained  by  character  and  dialogue,  founded  sometimes 
on  themes  of  tragic  interest,  and  at  others  on  such  as,  from 
their  light  and  social  character,  belong  to  comedy.10  Of  the 
execution  of  these  pieces  we  have  now  no  means  of  judging. 
It  was  probably  rude  enough,  as  befitted  an  unformed  people. 
But,  whatever  may  have  been  the  execution,  the  mere  concep- 
tion of  such  an  amusement  is  a proof  of  refinement  that  honor- 
ably distinguishes  the  Peruvian  from  the  other  American  races, 
whose  pastime  was  war,  or  the  ferocious  sports  that  reflect  the 
image  of  it. 

The  intellectual  character  of  the  Peruvians,  indeed,  seems  to 
have  been  marked  rather  by  a tendency  to  refinement  than  by 
those  hardier  qualities  which  insure  success  in  the  severer  walks 
of  science.  In  these  they  were  behind  several  of  the  semi- 
civilized  nations  of  the  New  World.  They  had  some  acquaint- 
ance with  geography,  so  far  as  related  to  their  own  empire, 
which  was  indeed  extensive ; and  they  constructed  maps  with 
lines  raised  on  them  to  denote  the  boundaries  and  localities, 
on  a similar  principle  with  those  formerly  used  by  the  blind. 
In  astronomy  they  appear  to  have  made  but  moderate  pro- 
ficiency. They  divided  the  year  into  twelve  lunar  months, 
each  of  which,  having  its  own  name,  was  distinguished  by  its 
appropriate  festival.13  They  had,  also,  weeks,  but  of  what 
length,  whether  of  seven,  nine,  or  ten  days,  is  uncertain.  As 
their  lunar  year  would  necessarily  fall  short  of  the  true  time, 
they  rectified  their  calendar  by  solar  observations  made  by 
means  of  a number  of  cylindrical  columns  raised  on  the  high 
lands  round  Cuzco,  which  served  them  for  taking  azimuths ; 
and  by  measuring  their  shadows  they  ascertained  the  exact 
times  of  the  solstices.  The  period  of  the  equinoxes  they  de- 
termined by  the  help  of  a solitary  pillar,  or  gnomon,  placed  in 

10  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  ubi  supra. 

11  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS. — Fernandez,  who  differs  from  most  authorities  in  dating 
the  commencement  of  the  year  from  June,  gives  the  names  of  the  several  months,  with 
their  appropriate  occupations.  Hist,  del  Peru,  Parte  2,  lib.  cap.  10. 


CHAP.  IV.] 


ASTRONOMY. 


109 


the  centre  of  a circle,  which  was  described  in  the  area  of  the 
great  temple,  and  traversed  by  a diameter  that  was  drawn 
from  east  to  west.  When  the  shadows  were  scarcely  visible 
under  the  noontide  rays  of  the  sun,  they  said  that  “ the  god 
sat  with  all  his  light  upon  the  column.”  12  Quito,  which  lay 
immediately  under  the  equator,  where  the  vertical  rays  of  the 
sun  threw  no  shadow  at  noon,  was  held  in  especial  veneration 
as  the  favored  abode  of  the  great  deity.  The  period  of  the 
equinoxes  was  celebrated  by  public  rejoicings.  The  pillar  was 
crowned  by  the  golden  chair  of  the  Sun,  and  both  then  and 
at  the  solstices  the  columns  were  hung  with  garlands,  and  offer- 
ings of  flowers  and  fruits  were  made,  while  high  festival  was 
kept  throughout  the  empire.  By  these  periods  the  Peruvians 
regulated  their  religious  rites  and  ceremonial  and  prescribed 
the  nature  of  their  agricultural  labors.  The  year  itself  took 
its  departure  from  the  date  of  the  winter  solstice.13 

This  meagre  account  embraces  nearly  all  that  has  come  down 
to  us  of  Peruvian  astronomy.  It  may  seem  strange  that  a na- 
tion which  had  proceeded  thus  far  in  its  observations  should 
have  gone  no  farther,  and  that,  notwithstanding  its  general 
advance  in  civilization,  it  should  in  this  science  have  fallen  so 
far  short  not  only  of  the  Mexicans,  but  of  the  Muyscas,  inhab- 
iting the  same  elevated  regions  of  the  great  southern  plateau 
with  themselves.  These  latter  regulated  their  calendar  on  the 
same  general  plan  of  cycles  and  periodical  series  as  the  Aztecs, 
approaching  yet  nearer  to  the  system  pursued  by  the  people  of 
Asia.14 

12  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  2,  cap.  22-26. — The  Spanish  conquerors  threw 
down  these  pillars,  as  savoring  of  idolatry  in  the  Indians.  Which  of  the  two  were  best  en- 
titled to  the  name  of  barbarians  ? 

13  Betanzos,  Nar.  de  los  Ingas,  MS.,  cap.  16. — Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  23. — 
Acosta,  lib.  6,  cap.  3. — The  most  celebrated  gnomon  in  Europe,  that  raised  on  the  dome  of 
the  metropolitan  church  of  Florence,  was  erected  by  the  famous  Toscanelli — for  the  purpose 
of  determining  the  solstices,  and  regulating  the  festivals  of  the  Church — about  the  year 
1468  ; perhaps  at  no  very  distant  date  from  that  of  the  similar  astronomical  contrivance  of 
the  American  Indian.  See  Tiraboschi,  Historia  della  Letteratura’I taliana,  tom.  vi.,  lib.  2, 
cap.  2,  sec.  38. 

14  A tolerably  meagre  account — yet  as  full,  probably,  as  authorities  could  warrant — of 
this  interesting  people  has  been  given  by  Piedrahita,  Bishop  of  Panamd,  in  the  first  two 
Books  of  his  Historia  general  de  las  Conquistas  del  nuevo  Regno  de  Granada  (Madrid, 
1688). — M.  de  Humboldt  was  fortunate  in  obtaining  a MS.,  composed  by  a Spanish  eccle- 
siastic resident  in  Santa  F6  de  Bogota,  in  relation  to  the  Muysca  calendar,  of  which  the 


no 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  L 


It  might  have  been  expected  that  the  Incas,  the  boasted 
children  of  the  Sun,  would  have  made  a particular  study  of  the 
phenomena  of  the  heavens  and  have  constructed  a calendar  on 
principles  as  scientific  as  that  of  their  semi-civilized  neighbors. 
One  historian,  indeed,  assures  us  that  they  threw  their  years 
into  cycles  of  ten,  a hundred,  and  a thousand  years,  and  that 
by  these  cycles  they  regulated  their  chronology.15  But  this 
assertion — not  improbable  in  itself — rests  on  a writer  but  little 
gifted  with  the  spirit  of  criticism,  and  is  counterbalanced  by 
the  silence  of  every  higher  and  earlier  authority,  as  well  as  by 
the  absence  of  any  monument,  like  those  found  among  other 
American  nations,  to  attest  the  existence  of  such  a calendar. 
The  inferiority  of  the  Peruvians  may  be,  perhaps,  in  part  ex- 
plained by  the  fact  of  their  priesthood  being  drawn  exclusively 
from  the  body  of  the  Incas,  a privileged  order  of  nobility,  who 
had  no  need,  by  the  assumption  of  superior  learning,  to  fence 
themselves  round  from  the  approaches  of  the  vulgar.  The 
little  true  science  possessed  by  the  Aztec  priest  supplied  him 
with  a key  to  unlock  the  mysteries  of  the  heavens,  and  the 
false  system  of  astrology  which  he  built  upon  it  gave  him  credit 
as  a being  who  had  something  of  divinity  in  his  own  nature. 
But  the  Inca  noble  was  divine  by  birth.  The  illusory  study 
of  astrology,  so  captivating  to  the  unenlightened  mind,  engaged 
no  share  of  his  attention.  The  only  persons  in  Peru  who 
claimed  the  power  of  reading  the  mysterious  future  were  the  di- 
viners, men  who,  combining  with  their  pretensions  some  skill  in 
the  healing  art,  resembled  the  conjurers  found  among  many  of 
the  Indian  tribes.  But  the  office  was  held  in  little  repute,  except 
among  the  lower  classes,  and  was  abandoned  to  those  whose  age 
and  infirmity  disqualified  them  for  the  real  business  of  life.18 

Prussian  philosopher  has  given  a large  and  luminous  analysis.  Vues  des  Cordill&res,  p. 
244. 

16  Montesinos,  Mem.  antiguas,  MS.,  lib.  2,  cap.  7. — “Renovd  la  computacion  de  los 
tiempos,  que  se  iba  perdiendo,  y se  contaron  en  su  Reynado  los  anos  por  365  dias  y seis 
horas  ; a los  anos  anadio  decadas  de  diez  anos,  a cada  diez  decadas  una  centuria  de  100 
anos,  y a cada  diez  centurias  una  capachoata  6 Jutiphuacan,  que  son  1,000  anos,  que  quiere 
decir  el  grande  ano  del  Sol ; asi  contaban  los  siglos  y los  sucesos  memorables  de  sus  Reyes." 
Ibid.,  loc.  cit. 

16  “ Ansi  mismo  les  hicieron  senalar  gente  para  hechizeros  que  tambien  es  entre  ellos, 
oficio  publico  y conoscido  en  todos,  . . .los  diputados  para  ello  no  lo  tenian  por  tra- 


CHAP.  IV.] 


ASTRONOMY. 


Ill 


The  Peruvians  had  knowledge  of  one  or  two  constellations, 
and  watched  the  motions  of  the  planet  Venus,  to  which,  as  we 
have  seen,  they  dedicated  altars.  But  their  ignorance  of  the 
first  principles  of  astronomical  science  is  shown  by  their  ideas 
of  eclipses,  which  they  supposed  denoted  some  great  derange- 
ment of  the  planet ; and  when  the  moon  labored  under  one  of 
these  mysterious  infirmities  they  sounded  their  instruments,  and 
filled  the  air  with  shouts  and  lamentations,  to  rouse  her  from 
her  lethargy.  Such  puerile  conceits  as  these  form  a striking 
contrast  with  the  real  knowledge  of  the  Mexicans,  as  displayed 
in  their  hieroglyphical  maps,  in  which  the  true  cause  of  this 
phenomenon  is  plainly  depicted.17 

But,  if  less  successful  in  exploring  the  heavens,  the  Incas 
must  be  admitted  to  have  surpassed  every  other  American  race 
in  their  dominion  over  the  earth.  Husbandry  was  pursued  by 
them  on  principles  that  may  be  truly  called  scientific.  It  was 
the  basis  of  their  political  institutions.  Having  no  foreign 
commerce,  it  was  agriculture  that  furnished  them  with  the 
means  of  their  internal  exchanges,  their  subsistence,  and  their 
revenues.  We  have  seen  their  remarkable  provisions  for  dis- 
tributing the  land  in  equal  shares  among  the  people,  while 
they  required  every  man,  except  the  privileged  orders,  to  assist 
in  its  cultivation.  The  Inca  himself  did  not  disdain  to  set  the 
example.  On  one  of  the  great  annual  festivals  he  proceeded 
to  the  environs  of  Cuzco,  attended  by  his  court,  and,  in  the 
presence  of  all  the  people,  turned  up  the  earth  with  a golden 
plough — or  an  instrument  that  served  as  such — thus  consecrat- 
ing the  occupation  of  the  husbandman  as  one  worthy  to  be  fol- 
lowed by  the  Children  of  the  Sun.18 

vajo,  por  que  ninguno  podia  tener  semejante  oficio  como  los  dichos  sino  fuesen  viejos  6 
viejas,  y personas  inaviles  para  travajar,  como  mancos,  cojos  6 contrechos,  y gente  asi  £ 
quien  faltava  las  fuerzas  para  ello.”  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. 

17  See  Codex  Tel.-Remensis,  Part  4,  PI.  22,  ap.  Antiquities  of  Mexico,  vol.  i.,  London, 
1829. 

18  Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  16.— The  nobles,  also,  it  seems,  at  this  high  festival, 
imitated  the  example  of  their  master.  “ Pasadas  todas  las  fiestas,  en  la  ultima  llevavan 
muchos  arados  de  manos,  los  quales  antiguamente  heran  de  oro  ; i dchos  los  oficios,  tomava 
el  Inga  un  arado  i comenzava  con  el  a romper  la  tierra,  i lo  mismo  los  demas  senores, 
para  que  de  alii  adelante  en  todo  su  senorio  hiciesen  lo  mismo,  i sin  que  el  Inga  hiciese 
esto  no  avia  Indio  que  osase  romper  la  tierra,  ni  pensavan  que  produjese  si  el  Inga  no  la 
rompia  primero  i esto  vaste  quanto  d las  fiestas.”  Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS. 


1 12 


CIVILIZATION’  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  I. 


The  patronage  of  the  government  did  not  stop  with  this 
cheap  display  of  royal  condescension,  but  was  shown  in  the 
most  efficient  measures  for  facilitating  the  labors  of  the  hus- 
bandman. Much  of  the  country  along  the  sea-coast  suffered 
from  want  of  water,  as  little  or  no  rain  fell  there,  and  the  few 
streams,  in  their  short  and  hurried  course  from  the  mountains, 
exerted  only  a very  limited  influence  on  the  wide  extent  of 
territory.  The  soil,  it  is  true,  was  for  the  most  part  sandy  and 
sterile  ; but  many  places  were  capable  of  being  reclaimed,  and, 
indeed,  needed  only  to  be  properly  irrigated  to  be  susceptible 
of  extraordinary  production.  To  these  spots  water  was  con- 
veyed by  means  of  canals  and  subterraneous  aqueducts  executed 
on  a noble  scale.  They  consisted  of  large  slabs  of  freestone 
nicely  fitted  together  without  cement,  *and  discharged  a volume 
of  water  sufficient,  by  means  of  latent  ducts  or  sluices,  to 
moisten  the  lands  in  the  lower  level,  through  which  they 
passed.  Some  of  these  aqueducts  were  of  great  length.  One 
that  traversed  the  district  of  Condesuyu  measured  between  four 
and  five  hundred  miles.  They  were  brought  from  some  ele- 
vated lake  or  natural  reservoir  in  the  heart  of  the  mountains, 
and  were  fed  at  intervals  by  other  basins  which  lay  in  their 
route  along  the  slopes  of  the  sierra.  In  this  descent  a passage 
was  sometimes  to  be  opened  through  rocks— and  this  without 
the  aid  of  iron  tools ; impracticable  mountains  were  to  be 
turned,  rivers  and  marshes  to  be  crossed  ; in  short,  the  same 
obstacles  were  to  be  encountered  as  in  the  construction  of 
their  mighty  roads.  But  the  Peruvians  seemed  to  take  pleasure 
in  wrestling  with  the  difficulties  of  nature.  Near  Caxamarca  a 
tunnel  is  still  visible  which  they  excavated  in  the  mountains  to 
give  an  outlet  to  the  waters  of  a lake  when  these  rose  to  a 
height  in  the  rainy  seasons  that  threatened  the  country  with  in- 
undation.20 

19  Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  21. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  5,  cap. 
24.  —Stevenson,  Narrative  of  a Twenty  Years’  Residence  in  South  America  (London,  1829), 
vol.  i.,  p.  412  ; ii.,  pp.  173,  174. — “ Sacauan  acequias  en  cabos  y por  partes  que  es  cosa 
estrana  afirmar  lo  : porque  las  echauan  por  lugares  altos  y baxos : y por  laderas  de  Ios 
cabeQos  y haldas  de  sierras  q estan  en  los  valles  : y por  ellos  mismos  atrauiessan  muchas : 
unas  por  una  parte,  y otras  por  otra,  que  es  gran  delectacio  caminar  por  aquellos  valles  : 


CHAP.  IV.] 


AQUEDUCTS. 


113 

Most  of  these  beneficent  works  of  the  Incas  were  suffered  to 
go  to  decay  by  their  Spanish  conquerors.  In  some  spots  the 
waters  are  still  left  to  flow  in  their  silent,  subterraneous  chan- 
nels, whose  windings  and  whose  sources  have  been  alike  unex- 
plored. Others,  though  partially  dilapidated,  and  closed  up 
with  rubbish  and  the  rank  vegetation  of  the  soil,  still  betray 
their  course  by  occasional  patches  of  fertility.  Such  are  the 
remains  in  the  Valley  of  Nasca,  a fruitful  spot  that  lies  between 
long  tracts  of  desert ; where  the  ancient  watercourses  of  the 
Incas,  measuring  four  or  five  feet  in  depth  by  three  in  width, 
and  formed  of  large  blocks  of  uncemented  masonry,  are  con- 
ducted from  an  unknown  distance. 

The  greatest  care  was  taken  that  every  occupant  of  the  land 
through  which  these  streams  passed  should  enjoy  the  benefit  of 
them.  The  quantity  of  water  allotted  to  each  was  prescribed 
by  law ; and  royal  overseers  superintended  the  distribution 
and  saw  that  it  was  faithfully  applied  to  the  irrigation  of  the 
ground.20. 

The  Peruvians  showed  a similar  spirit  of  enterprise  in  their 
schemes  for  introducing  cultivation  into  the  mountainous  parts 
of  their  domain.  Many  of  the  hills,  though  covered  with  a 
strong  soil,  were  too  precipitous  to  be  tilled.  These  they  cut 
into  terraces,  faced  with  rough  stone,  diminishing  in  regu- 
lar gradation  toward  the  summit ; so  that,  while  the  lower 
strip,  or  anden , as  it  was  called  by  the  Spaniards,  that  belted 
round  the  base  of  the  mountain,  might  comprehend  hundreds 
of  acres,  the  uppermost  was  only  large  enough  to  accommodate 
a few  rows  of  Indian  corn.21  Some  of  the  eminences  presented 
such  a mass  of  solid  rock  that  after  being  hewn  into  terraces 
they  were  obliged  to  be  covered  deep  with  earth  before  they 

porque  parece  que  se  anda  entre  huertas  y florestas  llenas  de  frescuras.”  Cieza  de  Leon. 
Cronica,  cap.  66. 

80  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Memoirs  of  Gen.  Miller,  vol.  ii.,  p.  220. 

81  Miller  supposes  that  it  was  from  these  anden.es  that  the  Spaniards  gave  the  name  of 
Andes  to  the  South  American  Cordilleras.  (Memoirs  of  Gen.  Miller,  vol.  ii.,  p.  2I9.)  But 
the  name  is  older  than  the  Conquest,  according  to  Garcilasso,  who  traces  it  to  Anti , the 
name  of  a province  that  lay  east  of  Cuzco.  (Com.  Real.,  Parte  r,  lib.  2,  cap.  11.)  Anta, 
the  word  for  copper,  which  was  found  abundant  in  certain  quarters  of  the  country,  may 
have  suggested  the  name  of  the  province,  if  not  immediately  that  of  the  mountains. 


1 14  CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS.  [book  i. 

could  serve  the  purpose  of  the  husbandman.  With  such  pa- 
tient toil  did  the  Peruvians  combat  the  formidable  obstacles 
presented  by  the  face  of  their  country  ! Without  the  use  of 
the  tools  or  the  machinery  familiar  to  the  European,  each  in- 
dividual could  have  done  little ; but  acting  in  large  masses, 
and  under  a common  direction,  they  were  enabled  by  indefati- 
gable perseverance  to  achieve  results  to  have  attempted  which 
might  have  filled  even  the  European  with  dismay.22 

In  the  same  spirit  of  economical  husbandry  which  redeemed 
the  rocky  sierra  from  the  curse  of  sterility,  they  dug  below  the 
arid  soil  of  the  valleys,  and  sought  for  a stratum  where  some 
natural  moisture  might  be  found.  These  excavations,  called 
by  the  Spaniards  hoy  as,  or  (f  pits,”  were  made  on  a great 
scale,  comprehending  frequently  more  than  an  acre,  sunk  to 
the  depth  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet,  and  fenced  round  within  by 
a wall  of  adobes , or  bricks  baked  in  the  sun.  The  bottom  of 
the  excavation,  well  prepared  by  a rich  manure  of  the  sardines 
— a small  fish  obtained  in  vast  quantities  along  the  coast — was 
planted  with  some  kind  of  grain  or  vegetable.23 

The  Peruvian  farmers  were  well  acquainted  with  the  different 
kinds  of  manures,  and  made  large  use  of  them  ; a circumstance 
rare  in  the  rich  lands  of  the  tropics,  and  probably  not  else- 
where practised  by  the  rude  tribes  of  America.  They  made 
great  use  of  guano , the  valuable  deposit  of  sea-fowl,  that  has 
attracted  so  much  attention  of  late  from  the  agriculturists  both 
of  Europe  and  of  our  own  country,  and  the  stimulating  and 
nutritious  properties  of  which  the  Indians  perfectly  appreciated. 
This  was  found  in  such  immense  quantities  on  many  of  the 
little  islands  along  the  coast  as  to  have  the  appearance  of  lofty 
hills,  which,  covered  with  a white  saline  incrustation,  led  the 
Conquerors  to  give  them  the  name  of  the  sierra  nevada , or 
1 ‘ snowy  mountains.  ’ ’ 

The  Incas  took  their  usual  precautions  for  securing  the  bene- 
fits of  this  important  article  to  the  husbandman.  They  assigned 

82  Memoirs  of  Gen.  Miller,  ubi  supra. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  5,  cap.  1. 

23  Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap.  73. — The  remains  of  these  ancient  excavations  still  excite 
the  wonder  of  the  modern  traveller.  See  Stevenson,  Residence  in  South  America,  vol.  i.,  p. 
35^. — Also  McCulloh,  Researches,  p.  358. 


chap,  iv.]  SUBSTITUTE  FOR  THE  PLOUGH . 1 1 5 

the  small  islands  on  the  coast  to  the  use  of  the  respective  dis- 
tricts which  lay  adjacent  to  them.  When  the  island  was  large, 
it  was  distributed  among  several  districts,  and  the  boundaries 
for  each  were  clearly  defined.  All  encroachment  on  the  rights 
of  another  was  severely  punished.  And  they  secured  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  fowl  by  penalties  as  stern  as  those  by  which  the 
Norman  tyrants  of  England  protected  their  own  game.  No 
one  was  allowed  to  set  foot  on  the  island  during  the  season  for 
breeding,  under  pain  of  death  ; and  to  kill  the  birds  at  any 
<dme  was  punished  in  the  like  manner.24 

With  this  advancement  in  agricultural  science,  the  Peruvians 
might  be  supposed  to  have  had  some  knowledge  of  the  plough, 
in  such  general  use  among  the  primitive  nations  of  the  Eastern 
continent.  But  they  had  neither  the  iron  ploughshare  of  the 
Old  World,  nor  had  they  animals  for  draught,  which,  indeed, 
were  nowhere  found  in  the  New.  The  instrument  which  they 
used  was  a strong,  sharp-pointed  stake,  traversed  by  a horizon- 
tal piece,  ten  or  twelve  inches  from  the  point,  on  which  the 
ploughman  might  set  his  foot  and  force  it  into  the  ground. 
Six  or  eight  strong  men  were  attached  by  ropes  to  the  stake, 
and  dragged  it  forcibly  along — pulling  together,  and  keeping 
time  as  they  moved  by  chanting  their  national  songs,  in  which 
they  were  accompanied  by  the  women  who  followed  in  their 
train,  to  break  up  the  sods  with  their  rakes.  The  mellow  soil 
offered  slight  resistance  ; and  the  laborer,  by  long  practice,  ac- 
quired a dexterity  which  enabled  him  to  turn  up  the  ground  to 
the  requisite  depth  with  astonishing  facility.  This  substitute 
for  the  plough  was  but  a clumsy  contrivance  ; yet  it  is  curious 
as  the  only  specimen  of  the  kind  among  the  American  aborig- 
ines, and  was  perhaps  not  much  inferior  to  the  wooden  instru- 
ment introduced  in  its  stead  by  the  European  conquerors.26 

It  was  frequently  the  policy  of  the  Incas,  after  providing  a 
deserted  tract  with  the  means  for  irrigation  and  thus  fitting  it 
for  the  labors  of  the  husbandman,  to  transplant  there  a colony 
of  mitimaes,  who  brought  it  under  cultivation  by  raising  the 


24  Acosta,  lib.  4,  cap.  36. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib,  5,  cap.  3. 
26  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  5,  cap.  2. 


II 6 CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS . [book  i. 

crops  best  suited  to  the  soil.  While  the  peculiar  character  and 
capacity  of  the  lands  were  thus  consulted,  a means  of  exchange 
of  the  different  products  was  afforded  to  the  neighboring  prov- 
inces, which,  from  the  formation  of  the  country,  varied  much 
more  than  usual  within  the  same  limits.  To  facilitate  these 
agricultural  exchanges,  fairs  were  instituted,  which  took  place 
three  times  a month  in  some  of  the  most  populous  places, 
where,  as  money  was  unknown,  a rude  kind  of  commerce  was 
kept  up  by  the  barter  of  their  respective  products.  These  fairs 
afforded  so  many  holidays  for  the  relaxation  of  the  industrious 
laborer.26 

Such  were  the  expedients  adopted  by  the  Incas  for  the  im- 
provement of  their  territory  ; and,  although  imperfect,  they 
must  be  allowed  to  show  an  acquaintance  with  the  principles  of 
agricultural  science  that  gives  them  some  claim  to  the  rank  of 
a civilized  people.  Under  their  patient  and  discriminating 
culture,  every  inch  of  good  soil  was  tasked  to  its  greatest  power 
of  production  ; while  the  most  unpromising  spots  were  com- 
pelled to  contribute  something  to  the  subsistence  of  the  people. 
Everywhere  the  land  teemed  with  evidence  of  agricultural 
wealth,  from  the  smiling  valleys  along  the  coast  to  the  terraced 
steeps  of  the  sierra,  which,  rising  into  pyramids  of  verdure, 
glowed  with  all  the  splendors  of  tropical  vegetation. 

The  formation  of  the  country  was  particularly  favorable,  as 
already  remarked,  to  an  infinite  variety  of  products,  not  so 
much  from  its  extent  as  from  its  various  elevations,  which, 
more  remarkable  even  than  those  in  Mexico,  comprehend  every 
degree  of  latitude  from  the  equator  to  the  polar  regions.  Yet, 
though  the  temperature  changes  in  this  region  with  the  degree 
of  elevation,  it  remains  nearly  the  same  in  the  same  spots 
throughout  the  year  ; and  the  inhabitant  feels  none  of  those 
grateful  vicissitudes  of  season  which  belong  to  the  temperate 
latitudes  of  the  globe.  Thus,  while  the  summer  lies  in  full 
power  on  the  burning  regions  of  the  palm  and  the  cocoa-tree 
that  fringe  the  borders  of  the  ocean,  the  broad  surface  of  the 

26  Sarmiento,  Rel„  MS.,  cap.  19. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  x,  lib.  6,  cap.  36;  lib. 
7,  cap.  1. — Herrera,  Hist,  gen.,  dec.  5,  lib.  4,  cap.  3. 


CHAP.  IV.] 


IMPORTANT  ESCULENTS. 


ii  7 

table-land  blooms  with  the  freshness  of  perpetual  spring,  and 
the  higher  summits  of  the  Cordilleras  are  white  with  everlast- 
ing winter. 

The  Peruvians  turned  this  fixed  variety  of  climate,  if  I may 
so  say,  to  the  best  account,  by  cultivating  the  productions  ap- 
propriate to  each ; and  they  particularly  directed  their  atten- 
tion to  those  which  afforded  the  most  nutriment  to  man. 
Thus,  in  the  lower  level  were  to  be  found  the  cassava-tree  and 
the  banana,  that  bountiful  plant,  which  seems  to  have  relieved 
man  from  the  primeval  curse — if  it  were  not  rather  a blessing 
— of  toiling  for  his  sustenance.27  As  the  banana  faded  from 
the  landscape,  a good  substitute  was  found  in  the  maize,  the 
great  agricultural  staple  of  both  the  northern  and  southern 
divisions  of  the  American  continent,  and  which,  after  its  ex- 
portation to  the  Old  World,  spread  so  rapidly  there  as  to  sug- 
gest the  idea  of  its  being  indigenous  to  it.28  The  Peruvians 
were  well  acquainted  with  the  different  modes  of  preparing  this 
useful  vegetable,  though  it  seems  they  did  not  use  it  for  bread, 
except  at  festivals  ; and  they  extracted  a sort  of  honey  from 
the  stalk,  and  made  an  intoxicating  liquor  from  the  fermented 
grain,  to  which,  like  the  Aztecs,  they  were  immoderately  ad- 
dicted.29 

The  temperate  climate  of  the  table-land  furnished  them  with 
the  maguey,  agave  Americana , many  of  the  extraordinary 
qualities  of  which  they  comprehended,  though  not  in  its  most 
important  one  of  affording  a material  for  paper.  Tobacco,  too, 

27  The  prolific  properties  of  the  banana  are  shown  by  M.  de  Humboldt,  who  states  that 
its  productiveness,  as  compared  with  that  of  wheat,  is  as  133  to  1,  and  with  that  of  the 
potato,  as  44  to  1. 

(Essai  politique  sur  le  Royaume  de  la  Nouvelle-Espagne,  Paris,  1827,  tom.  ii.,  p.  389.) 
It  is  a mistake  to  suppose  that  this  plant  was  not  indigenous  to  South  America.  The 
banana-leaf  has  been  frequently  found  in  ancient  Peruvian  tombs. 

28  The  misnomer  of  ble  de  Turquie  shows  the  popular  error.  Yet  the  rapidity  of  its 
diffusion  through  Europe  and  Asia  after  the  discovery  of  America  is  of  itself  sufficient  to 
show  that  it  could  not  have  been  indigenous  to  the  Old  World  and  have  so  long  remained 
generally  unknown  there. 

29  Acosta,  lib.  4,  cap.  16. — The  saccharine  matter  contained  in  the  maize-stalk  is  much 
greater  in  tropical  countries  than  in  more  northern  latitudes  ; so  that  the  natives  in  the 
former  may  be  seen  sometimes  sucking  it  like  the  sugar-cane.  One  kind  of  the  fermented 
liquors,  sora,  made  from  the  com,  was  of  such  strength  that  the  use  of  it  was  forbidden  by 
the  Incas,  at  least  to  the  common  people.  Their  injunctions  do  not  seem  to  have  been 
obeyed  so  implicitly  in  this  instance  as  usual. 


1 1 8 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  Ui 


was  among  the  products  of  this  elevated  region.  Yet  the  Pe- 
ruvians differed  from  every  other  Indian  nation  to  whom  it 
was  known,  by  using  it  only  for  medicinal  purposes  in  the 
form  of  snuff.80  They  may  have  found  a substitute  for  its  nar- 
cotic qualities  in  the  coca  ( Erythroxylum  Peruvianum ),  or 
cuca,  as  called  by  the  natives.  This  is  a shrub  which  grows 
to  the  height  of  a man.  The  leaves  when  gathered  are  dried 
in  the  sun,  and,  being  mixed  with  a little  lime,  form  a prepa- 
ration for  chewing,  much  like  the  betel-leaf  of  the  East.81 
With  a small  supply  of  this  cuca  in  his  pouch,  and  a handful  of 
roasted  maize,  the  Peruvian  Indian  of  our  time  performs  his 
wearisome  journeys,  day  after  day,  without  fatigue,  or,  at  least, 
without  complaint.  Even  food  the  most  invigorating  is  less 
grateful  to  him  than  his  loved  narcotic.  Under  the  Incas,  it 
is  said  to  have  been  exclusively  reserved  for  the  noble  orders. 
If  so,  the  people  gained  one  luxury  by  the  Conquest ; and  after 
that  period  it  was  so  extensively  used  by  them  that  this  article 
constituted  a most  important  item  of  the  colonial  revenue  of 
Spain.33  Yet,  with  the  soothing  charms  of  an  opiate,  this  weed 
so  much  vaunted  by  the  natives,  when  used  to  excess,  is 
said  to  be  attended  with  all  the  mischievous  effects  of  habitual 
intoxication.33 

Higher  up  on  the  slopes  of  the  Cordilleras,  beyond  the  lim- 
its of  the  maize  and  of  the  quinoa — a grain  bearing  some  resem- 
blance to  rice,  and  largely  cultivated  by  the  Indians — was  to 
be  found  the  potato,  the  introduction  .of  which  into  Europe 
has  made  an  era  in  the  history  of  agriculture.  Whether  indig- 
enous to  Peru,  or  imported  from  the  neighboring  country  of 
Chili,  it  formed  the  great  staple  of  the  more  elevated  plains, 

30  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  r,  lib.  2,  cap.  25. 

31  The  pungent  leaf  of  the  betel  is  in  like  manner  mixed  with  lime  when  chewed.  (El« 
phinstone,  History  of  India,  London,  1841,  vol.  i.,  p.  331.)  The  similarity  of  this  social 
indulgence,  in  the  remote  East  and  West,  is  singular. 

33  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Seg.,  MS* — Acosta,  lib.  4,  cap.  22. — Stevenson,  Residence  in  South 
America,  vol.  ii.,  p.  63. — Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap.  96. 

33  A traveller  (Poeppig)  noticed  in  the  Foreign  Quarterly  Review  (No.  33)  expatiates  on 
the  malignant  effects  of  the  habitual  use  of  the  cuca , as  very  similar  to  those  produced  on 
the  chewer  of  opium.  Strange  that  such  baneful  properties  should  not  be  the  subject  of 
more  frequent  comment  with  other  writers  ! I do  not  remember  to  have  seen  them  eves 
adverted  to. 


CHAP.  V.] 


PERUVIAN  SHEEP . 


1 19 

under  the  Incas,  and  its  culture  was  continued  to  a height  in 
the  equatorial  regions  which  reached  many  thousand  feet  above 
the  limits  of  perpetual  snow  in  the  temperate  latitudes  of  Eu- 
rope.34 Wild  specimens  of  the  vegetable  might  be  seen  still 
higher,  springing  up  spontaneously  amidst  the  stunted  shrubs 
that  clothed  the  lofty  sides  of  the  Cordilleras,  till  these  gradu- 
ally subsided  into  the  mosses  and  the  short  yellow  grass,  pa - 
jonal , which,  like  a golden  carpet,  was  unrolled  around  the  base 
of  the  mighty  cones,  that  rose  far  into  the  regions  of  eternal 
silence  covered  with  the  snows  of  centuries.36 


CHAPTER  V. 


Peruvian  Sheep. — Great  Hunts. — Manufactures. — Mechanical  Skill. — 
Architecture.  — Concluding  Reflections. 

A nation  which  had  made  such  progress  in  agriculture 
might  be  reasonably  expected  to  have  made  also  some  profi- 
ciency in  the  mechanical  arts — especially  when,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  Peruvians,  their  agricultural  economy  demanded  in 
itself  no  inconsiderable  degree  of  mechanical  skill.  Among 
most  nations,  progress  in  manufactures  has  been  found  to  have 
an  intimate  connection  with  the  progress  of  husbandry.  Both 
arts  are  directed  to  the  same  great  object  of  supplying  the  nec- 

Malte-Brun,  book  86. — The  potato,  found  by  the  early  discoverers  in  Chili,  Peru,  New 
Granada,  and  all  along  the  Cordilleras  of  South  America,  was  unknown  in  Mexico — an 
additional  proof  of  the  entire  ignorance  in  which  the  respective  nations  of  the  two  continents 
remained  of  one  another.  M.  de  Humboldt,  who  has  bestowed  much  attention  on  the  early 
history  of  this  vegetable,  which  has  exerted  so  important  an  influence  on  European  society, 
supposes  that  the  cultivation  of  it  in  Virginia,  where  it  was  known  to  the  early  planters, 
must  have  been  oiginally  derived  from  the  Southern  Spanish  colonies. — Essai  politique, 
tom.  ii.,  p.  462. 

38  While  Peru,  under  the  Incas,  could  boast  these  indigenous  products,  and  many  others 
less  familiar  to  the  European,  it  was  unacquainted  with  several,  of  great  importance,  which, 
since  the  Conquest,  have  thriven  there  as  on  their  natural  soil.  Such  are  the  olive,  the 
grape,  the  fig,  the  apple,  the  orange,  the  sugar-cane.  None  of  the  cereal  grains  of  the  Old 
World  were  found  there.  The  first  wheat  was  introduced  by  a Spanish  lady  of  Truxillo, 
who  took  great  pains  to  disseminate  it  among  the  colonists,  of  which  the  government,  to  its 
credit,  was  not  unmindful.  Her  name  was  Maria  de  Escobar.  History,  which  is  so  much 
occupied  with  celebrating  the  scourges  of  humanity,  should  take  pleasure  in  commemorat- 
ing one  of  its  real  benefactors. 


120 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  L 


essaries,  the  comforts,  or,  in  a more  refined  condition  of  soci- 
ety, the  luxuries  of  life ; and  when  the  one  is  brought  to  a 
perfection  that  infers  a certain  advance  in  civilization,  the 
other  must  naturally  find  a corresponding  development  under 
the  increasing  demands  and  capacities  of  such  a state.  The 
subjects  of  the  Incas,  in  their  patient  and  tranquil  devotion  to 
the  more  humble  occupations  of  industry  which  bound  them  to 
their  native  soil,  bore  greater  resemblance  to  the  Oriental  na- 
tions, as  the  Hindoos  and  Chinese,  than  they  bore  to  the 
members  of  the  great  Anglo-Saxon  family,  whose  hardy  temper 
has  driven  them  to  seek  their  fortunes  on  the  stormy  ocean  and 
to  open  a commerce  with  the  most  distant  regions  of  the  globe. 
The  Peruvians,  though  lining  a long  extent  of  sea-coast,  had 
no  foreign  commerce. 

They  had  peculiar  advantages  for  domestic  manufacture  in  a 
material  incomparably  superior  to  anything  possessed  by  the 
other  races  of  the  Western  continent.  They  found  a good 
substitute  for  linen  in  a fabric  which,  like  the  Aztecs,  they 
knew  how  to  weave  from  the  tough  thread  of  the  maguey. 
Cotton  grew  luxuriantly  on  the  low,  sultry  level  of  the  coast, 
and  furnished  them  with  a clothing  suitable  to  the  milder  lati- 
tudes of  the  country.  But  from  the  llama  and  the  kindred 
species  of  the  Peruvian  sheep  they  obtained  a fleece  adapted  to 
the  colder  climate  of  the  table-land,  “more  estimable,”  to 
quote  the  language  of  a well-informed  writer,  “ than  the  down 
of  the  Canadian  beaver,  the  fleece  of  the  brebis  des  Calmoucks , 
or  of  the  Syrian  goat.”1 

Of  the  four  varieties  of  the  Peruvian  sheep,  the  llama,  the 
one  most  familiarly  known,  is  the  least  valuable  on  account  of 
its  wool.  It  is  chiefly  employed  as  a beast  of  burden,  for 
which,  although  it  is  somewhat  larger  than  any  of  the  other 
varieties,  its  diminutive  size  and  strength  would  seem  to  dis- 
qualify it.  It  carries  a load  of  little  more  than  a hundred 
pounds,  and  cannot  travel  above  three  or  four  leagues  in  a day. 


1 Walton,  Historical  and  Descriptive  Account  of  the  Peruvian  Sheep  (London,  1811),  p. 
115.  This  writer’s  comparison  is  directed  to  the  wool  of  the  vicuna,  the  most  esteemed  of 
the  genus  for  its  fleece. 


CHAP.  V.] 


PERUVIAN  SHEEP. 


121 


But  all  this  is  compensated  by  the  little  care  and  cost  re- 
quired for  its  management  and  its  maintenance.  It  picks  up 
an  easy  subsistence  from  the  moss  and  stunted  herbage  that 
grows  scantily  along  the  withered  sides  and  the  steeps  of  the 
Cordilleras.  The  structure  of  its  stomach,  like  that  of  the 
camel,  is  such  as  to  enable  it  to  dispense  with  any  supply  of 
water  for  weeks,  nay,  months  together.  Its  spongy  hoof, 
armed  with  a claw  or  pointed  talon  to  enable  it  to  take  secure 
hold  on  the  ice,  never  requires  to  be  shod ; and  the  load  laid 
upon  its  back  rests  securely  in  its  bed  of  wool,  without  the  aid 
of  girth  or  saddle.  The  llamas  move  in  troops  of  five  hundred 
or  even  a thousand,  and  thus,  though  each  individual  carries 
but  little,  the  aggregate  is  considerable.  The  whole  caravan 
travels  on  at  its  regular  pace,  passing  the  night  in  the  open  air 
without  suffering  from  the  coldest  temperature,  and  marching 
in  perfect  order  and  in  obedience  to  the  voice  of  the  driver. 
It  is  only  when  overloaded  that  the  spirited  little  animal  re- 
fuses to  stir,  and  neither  blows  nor  caresses  can  induce  him  to 
rise  from  the  ground.  He  is  as  sturdy  in  asserting  his  rights 
on  this  occasion  as  he  is  usually  docile  and  unresisting.2 

The  employment  of  domestic  animals  distinguished  the  Peru- 
vians from  the  other  races  of  the  New  World.  This  economy 
of  human  labor  by  the  substitution  of  the  brute  is  an  important 
element  of  civilization,  inferior  only  to  what  is  gained  by  the 
substitution  of  machinery  for  both.  Yet  the  ancient  Peruvians 
seem  to  have  made  much  less  account  of  it  than  their  Spanish 
conquerors,  and  to  have  valued  the  llama,  in  common  with  the 
other  animals  of  that  genus,  chiefly  for  its  fleece.  Immense 
herds  of  these  ‘ 4 large  cattle,”  as  they  were  called,  and  of  the 
“ smaller  cattle,”  3 or  alpacas , were  held  by  the  government, 
as  already  noticed,  and  placed  under  the  direction  of  shep- 
herds, who  conducted  them  from  one  quarter  of  the  country  to 

2 Walton,  Hist,  and  Descrip.  Account  of  the  Peruvian  Sheep,  p.  23  et  seq. — Garcilasso, 

Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  8,  cap.  16. — Acosta,  lib  4,  cap.  41. — Llama , according  to  Garei- 
Jasso  de  la  Vega,  is  a Peruvian  word  signifying  “flock.”  (Ibid.,  ubi  supra.)  The  natives 
got  no  milk  from  their  domesticated  animals  ; nor  was  milk  used,  I believe,  by  any  tribe 
QD  the  American  continent. 

® Ganado  ntaior , ganado  menor . 


122 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  I. 


another,  according  to  the  changes  of  the  season.  These  migra- 
tions were  regulated  with  all  the  precision  with  which  the  code 
of  the  mesta  determined  the  migrations  of  the  vast  merino 
flocks  in  Spain ; and  the  Conquerors,  when  they  landed  in 
Peru,  were  amazed  at  finding  a race  of  animals  so  similar  to 
their  own  in  properties  and  habits,  and  under  the  control  of  a 
system  of  legislation  which  might  seem  to  have  been  imported 
from  their  native  land.4 

But  the  richest  store  of  wool  was  obtained,  not  from  these 
domesticated  animals,  but  from  the  two  other  species,  the 
huanacos  and  the  vicunas , which  roamed  in  native  freedom 
over  the  frozen  ranges  of  the  Cordilleras ; where  not  infre- 
quently they  might  be  seen  scaling  the  snow-covered  peaks 
which  no  living  thing  inhabits  save  the  condor,  the  huge  bird 
of  the  Andes,  whose  broad  pinions  bear  him  up  in  the  atmos- 
phere to  the  height  of  more  than  twenty  thousand  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea.6  In  these  rugged  pastures,  “ the  flock 
without  a fold  7 7 finds  sufficient  sustenance  in  the  ychu , a 
species  of  grass  which  is  found  scattered  all  along  the  great 
ridge  of  the  Cordilleras,  from  the  equator  to  the  southern 
limits  of  Patagonia.  And  as  these  limits  define  the  territory 
traversed  by  the  Peruvian  sheep,  which  rarely,  if  ever,  venture 
north  of  the  line,  it  seems  not  improbable  that  this  mysterious 
little  plant  is  so  important  to  their  existence  that  the  absence 
of  it  is  the  principal  reason  why  they  have  not  penetrated  to 
the  northern  latitudes  of  Quito  and  New  Granada.® 

But,  although  thus  roaming  without  a master  over  the  bound- 
less wastes  of  the  Cordilleras,  the  Peruvian  peasant  was  never 
allowed  to  hunt  these  wild  animals,  which  were  protected  by 
laws  as  severe  as  were  the  sleek  herds  that  grazed  on  the  more 
cultivated  slopes  of  the  plateau.  The  wild  game  of  the  forest 

4 The  judicious  Ondegardo  emphatically  recommends  the  adoption  of  many  of  these  reg- 
ulations by  the  Spanish  government,  as  peculiarly  suited  to  the  exigencies  of  the  natives : 
“ En  esto  de  los  ganados  parescio  haber  hecho  muchas  constituciones  en  diferentes  tiem- 
pos  6 algunas  tan  utiles  6 provechosas  para  su  conservacion  que  convendria  que  tambien 
guardasen  agora.”  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. 

6 Malte-Brun,  book  86. 

• Ychu,  called  in  the  Flora  Peruana  Jarava  ; Class,  Monandria  Digynia.  See  Walton, 
p.  17. 


CHAP.  V.] 


MANUFA  CTURES. 


123 


and  the  mountain  was  as  much  the  property  of  the  government 
as  if  it  had  been  enclosed  within  a park  or  penned  within  a 
fold.7  It  was  only  on  stated  occasions,  at  the  great  hunts 
which  took  place  once  a year,  under  the  personal  superinten- 
dence of  the  Inca  or  his  principal  officers,  that  the  game  was 
allowed  to  be  taken.  These  hunts  were  not  repeated  in  the 
same  quarter  of  the  country  oftener  than  once  in  four  years, 
that  time  might  be  allowed  for  the  waste  occasioned  by  them 
to  be  replenished.  At  the  appointed  time,  all  those  living  in 
the  district  and  its  neighborhood,  to  the  number,  it  might  be, 
of  fifty  or  sixty  thousand  men,8  were  distributed  round,  so  as 
to  form  a cordon  of  immense  extent,  that  should  embrace  the 
whole  country  which  was  to  be  hunted  over.  The  men  were 
armed  with  long  poles  and  spears,  with  which  they  beat  up 
game  of  every  description  lurking  in  the  woods,  the  valleys, 
and  the  mountains,  killing  the  beasts  of  prey  without  mercy, 
and  driving  the  others,  consisting  chiefly  of  the  deer  of  the 
country,  and  the  huanacos  and  vicunas,  toward  the  centre  of 
the  wide-extended  circle ; until,  as  this  gradually  contracted, 
the  timid  inhabitants  of  the  forests  were  concentrated  on  some 
spacious  plain,  where  the  eye  of  the  hunter  might  range  freely 
over  his  victims,  who  found  no  place  for  shelter  or  escape. 

The  male  deer  and  some  of  the  coarser  kind  of  the  Peruvian 
sheep  were  slaughtered  ; their  skins  were  reserved  for  the  vari- 
ous useful  manufactures  to  which  they  are  ordinarily  applied, 
and  their  flesh,  cut  into  thin  slices,  was  distributed  among  the 
people,  who  converted  it  into  charqui , the  dried  meat  of  the 
country,  which  constituted  then  the  sole,  as  it  has  since  the 
principal,  animal  food  of  the  lower  classes  of  Peru.9 

But  nearly  the  whole  of  the  sheep,  amounting  usually  to 
thirty  or  forty  thousand,  or  even  a larger  number,  after  bemg 
carefully  sheared,  were  suffered  to  escape  and  regain  their  soli- 

7 Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS. 

8 Sometimes  even  a hundred  thousand  mustered,  when  the  Inca  hunted  in  person,  if  we 
may  credit  Sarmiento  : “ De  donde  haviendose  ya  juntado  cinquenta  6 sesenta  mil  Per- 
sonas 6 cien  mil  si  mandado  les  era.”  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  13. 

9 Ibid.,  ubi  supra. — Ckargui ; hence,  probably,  says  McCulloh,  the  term  “jerked,”  ap- 
plied to  the  dried  beef  of  South  America.  Researches,  p.  377. 

Peru  6 Vol.  1 


124  CIVILIZATION’  OF  THE  INCAS.  [book  I. 

tary  haunts  among  the  mountains.  The  wool  thus  collected  was 
deposited  in  the  royal  magazines,  whence,  in  due  time,  it  was 
dealt  out  to  the  people.  The  coarser  quality  was  worked  up  into 
garments  for  their  own  use,  and  the  finer  for  the  Inca ; for  none 
but  an  Inca  noble  could  wear  the  fine  fabric  of  the  vicuna.10 

The  Peruvians  showed  great  skill  in  the  manufacture  of  dif- 
ferent articles  for  the  royal  household  from  this  delicate  ma- 
terial, which,  under  the  name  of  vigonia  wool,  is  now  familiar 
to  the  looms  of  Europe.  It  was  wrought  into  shawls,  robes, 
and  other  articles  of  dress  for  the  monarch,  and  into  carpets, 
coverlets,  and  hangings  for  the  imperial  palaces  and  the 
temples.  The  cloth  was  finished  on  both  sides  alike ; 11  the 
delicacy  of  the  texture  was  such  as  to  give  it  the  lustre  of  silk ; 
and  the  brilliancy  of  the  dyes  excited  the  admiration  and  the 
envy  of  the  European  artisan.13  The  Peruvians  produced  also 
an  article  of  great  strength  and  durability  by  mixing  the  hair 
of  animals  with  wool ; and  they  were  expert  in  the  beautiful 
feather-work,  which  they  held  of  less  account  than  the  Mexi- 
cans, from  the  superior  quality  of  the  materials  for  other  fabrics 
which  they  had  at  their  command.19 

The  natives  showed  a skill  in  other  mechanical  arts  similar 
to  that  displayed  by  their  manufactures  of  cloth.  Every  man 
in  Peru  was  expected  to  be  acquainted  with  the  various  handi- 
crafts essential  to  domestic  comfort.  No  long  apprenticeship 
was  required  for  this,  where  the  wants  were  so  few  as  among 
the  simple  peasantry  of  the  Incas.  But,  if  this  were  all,  it 
would  imply  but  a very  moderate  advancement  in  the  arts. 
There  were  certain  individuals,  however,  carefully  trained  to 


10  Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  loc.  cit.— -Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap.  81.— Garcilasso, 
Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  6,  cap.  6. 

11  Acosta,  lib.  4,  cap.  41. 

12  “Ropas  finisimas  para  los  Reyes,  que  lo  eran  tanto  que  parecian  de  sarga  de  seda  y 
con  colores  tan  perfectos  quanto  se  puede  afirmar.”  Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  13. 

13  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — “ Ropa  finissima  para  los  senores  Ingas  de 
lana  de  las  Vicunias.  Y cierto  fue  tan  prima  esta  ropa,  como  auran  visto  en  Espana : por 
alguna  que  alia  fue  luego  que  se  gano  este  rayno.  Los  vestidos  destos  Ingas  eran  camisetas 
desta  ropa  : vnas  pobladas  de  argenteria  de  oro,  otras  de  esmeraldas  y piedras  preciosas: 
y algunas  de  plumas  de  aues  : otras  de  solamente  la  manta.  Para  hazer  estas  ropas,  tu« 
uiero  y tienen  tan  perfetas  colores  de  carmesi,  azul,  amarillo,  negro,  y de  otras  suertes, 
que  verdaderamente  tienen  ventaja  a las  de  Espana.”  Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap.  124. 


GHAP.  V.] 


MECHANICAL  SKILL. 


125 


those  occupations  which  minister  to  the  demands  of  the  more 
opulent  classes  of  society.  These  occupations,  like  every  other 
calling  and  office  in  Peru,  always  descended  from  father  to 
son.14  The  division  of  castes,  in  this  particular,  was  as  precise 
as  that  which  existed  in  Egypt  or  Hindostan.  If  this  ar- 
rangement be  unfavorable  to  originality,  or  to  the  development 
of  the  peculiar  talent  of  the  individual,  it  at  least  conduces  to 
an  easy  and  finished  execution,  by  familiarizing  the  artist  with 
the  practice  of  his  art  from  childhood.16 

The  royal  magazines  and  the  huacas  or  tombs  of  the  Incas 
have  been  found  to  contain  many  specimens  of  curious  and 
elaborate  workmanship.  Among  these  are  vases  of  gold  and 
silver,  bracelets,  collars,  and  other  ornaments  for  the  person ; 
utensils  of  every  description,  some  of  fine  clay,  and  many 
more  of  copper ; mirrors  of  a hard,  polished  stone,  or  bur- 
nished silver,  with  a great  variety  of  other  articles  made  fre- 
quently on  a whimsical  pattern,  evincing  quite  as  much  inge- 
nuity as  taste  or  inventive  talent.16  The  character  of  the 
Peruvian  mind  led  to  imitation,  in  fact,  rather  than  invention, 
to  delicacy  and  minuteness  of  finish,  rather  than  to  boldness  or 
beauty  of  design. 

That  they  should  have  accomplished  these  difficult  works 
with  such  tools  as  they  possessed  is  truly  wonderful.  It  was 
comparatively  easy  to  cast  and  even  to  sculpture  metallic  sub- 
stances, both  of  which  they  did  with  consummate  skill.  But 
that  they  should  have  shown  the  like  facility  in  cutting  the 
hardest  substances,  as  emeralds  and  other  precious  stones,  is 
not  so  easy  to  explain.  Emeralds  they  obtained  in  consider- 

14  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim,  et  Seg.,  MSS. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  x,  lib.  5,  cap.  7, 

i3- 

15  At  least,  such  was  the  opinion  of  the  Egyptians,  who  referred  to  this  arrangement  of 
castes  as  the  source  of  their  own  peculiar  dexterity  in  the  arts.  See  Diodorus  Sic.,  lib  if 
sec  74. 

16  Ulloa,  Not.  Amer.,  ent.  21. — Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Cieza  de  Leon, 
Cronica,  cap.  114. — Condamine,  Mem.  ap.  Hist,  de  l’Acad.  Royale  de  Berlin,  tom.  ii. , pp. 
454-456. — The  last  writer  says  that  a large  collection  of  massive  gold  ornaments  of  very 
rich  workmanship  was  long  preserved  in  the  royal  treasury  of  Quito.  But  on  his  going 
there  to  examine  them  he  learned  that  they  had  just  been  melted  down  into  ingots  to  send 
to  Carthagena,  then  besieged  by  the  English  ! The  art  of  war  can  flourish  only  at  the  ex- 
pense of  all  the  other  arts. 


126 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  I. 


able  quantity  from  the  barren  district  of  Atacames,  and  this 
inflexible  material  seems  to  have  been  almost  as  ductile  in  the 
hands  of  the  Peruvian  artist  as  if  it  had  been  made  of  clay.17 
Yet  the  natives  were  unacquainted  with  the  use  of  iron,  though 
the  soil  was  largely  impregnated  with  it.18  The  tools  used 
were  of  stone,  or  more  frequently  of  copper.  But  the  material 
on  which  they  relied  for  the  execution  of  their  most  difficult 
tasks  was  formed  by  combining  a very  small  portion  of  tin  with 
copper.19  This  composition  gave  a hardness  to  the  metal 
which  seems  to  have  been  little  inferior  to  that  of  steel.  With 
the  aid  of  it,  not  only  did  the  Peruvian  artisan  hew  into  shape 
porphyry  and  granite,  but  by  his  patient  industry  accomplished 
works  which  the  European  would  not  have  ventured  to  under- 
take. Among  the  remains  of  the  monuments  of  Cannar  may 
be  seen  movable  rings  in  the  muzzles  of  animals,  all  nicely 
sculptured  of  one  entire  block  of  granite.30  It  is  worthy  of 
remark  that  the  Egyptians,  the  Mexicans,  and  the  Peruvians, 
in  their  progress  toward  civilization,  should  never  have  de- 
tected the  use  of  iron,  which  lay  around  them  in  abundance, 
and  that  they  should  each,  without  any  knowledge  of  the 
other,  have  found  a substitute  for  it  in  such  a curious  composi- 
tion of  metals  as  gave  to  their  tools  almost  the  temper  of 
steel ; 21  a secret  that  has  been  lost — or,  to  speak  more  cor- 
rectly, has  never  been  discovered — by  the  civilized  European. 

I have  already  spoken  of  the  large  quantity  of  gold  and  silver 
wrought  into  various  articles  of  elegance  and  utility  for  the 
Incas  ; though  the  amount  was  inconsiderable,  in  comparison 
with  what  could  have  been  afforded  by  the  mineral  riches  of 

17  They  had  turquoises,  also,  and  might  have  had  pearls,  but  for  the  tenderness  of  the 
Incas,  who  were  unwilling  to  risk  the  lives  of  their  people  in  this  perilous  fishery  ! At  least, 
so  we  are  assured  by  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  8,  cap.  23. 

i®  “No  tenian  herramientas  de  hierro  ni  azero.”  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. — Her- 
rera, Hist,  general,  dec.  5,  lib.  4,  cap.  4. 

19  M.  de  Humboldt  brought  with  him  back  to  Europe  one  of  these  metallic  tools,  a chisel, 
found  in  a silver  mine  opened  by  the  Incas  not  far  from  Cuzco.  On  an  analysis  it  was 
found  to  contain  0.94  of  copper  and  0.06  of  tin.  See  Vues  des  Cordill&res,  p.  117. 

39  “ Quoiqu’il  en  soit,”  says  M.  de  la  Condamine,  “nous  avons  vu  en  quelques  autres 
mines  desornemens  du  meme  granit,  qui  representoient  des  mufles  d’animaux,  dont  les 
narines  percees  portoient  des  anneaux  mobiles  de  la  meme  pierre.” — Mem.  ap.  Hist,  de 
l’Acad.  Royale  de  Berlin,  tom.  ii.,  p.  452. 

*»  See  the  History  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico,  Book  1,  chap.  5. 


CHAP.  V.] 


MECHANICAL  SKILL. 


1 27 


the  land,  and  with  what  has  since  been  obtained  by  the  more 
sagacious  and  unscrupulous  cupidity  of  the  white  man.  Gold 
was  gathered  by  the  Incas  from  the  deposits  of  the  streams. 
They  extracted  the  ore  also  in  considerable  quantities  from  the 
valley  of  Curimayo,  northeast  of  Caxamarca,  as  well  as  from 
other  places  ; and  the  silver  mines  of  Porco,  in  particular, 
yielded  them  considerable  returns.  Yet  they  did  not  attempt 
to  penetrate  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth  by  sinking  a shaft,  but 
simply  excavated  a cavern  in  the  steep  sides  of  the  mountain, 
or,  at  most,  opened  a horizontal  vein  of  moderate  depth.  They 
were  equally  deficient  in  the  knowledge  of  the  best  means  of 
detaching  the  precious  metal  from  the  dross  with  which  it  was 
united,  and  had  no  idea  of  the  virtues  of  quicksilver — a mineral 
not  rare  in  Peru — as  an  amalgam  to  effect  this  decomposition.32 
Their  method  of  smelting  the  ore  was  by  means  of  furnaces 
built  in  elevated  and  exposed  situations,  where  they  might  be 
fanned  by  the  strong  breezes  of  the  mountains.  The  subjects 
of  the  Incas,  in  short,  with  all  their  patient  perseverance,  did 
little  more  than  penetrate  below  the  crust,  the  outer  rind,  -as  it 
were,  formed  over  those  golden  caverns  which  lie  hidden  in  the 
dark  depths  of  the  Andes.  Yet  what  they  gleaned  from  the 
surface  was  more  than  adequate  for  all  their  demands.  For 
they  were  not  a commercial  people,  and  had  no  knowledge  of 
money.23  In  this  they  differed  from  the  ancient  Mexicans, 
who  had  an  established  currency  of  a determinate  value.  In 
one  respect,  however,  they  were  superior  to  their  American 
rivals,  since  they  made  use  of  weights  to  determine  the  quantity 
of  their  commodities,  a thing  wholly  unknown  to  the  Aztecs. 
This  fact  is  ascertained  by  the  discovery  of  silver  balances,  ad- 
justed with  perfect  accuracy,  in  some  of  the  tombs  of  the  Incas.24 

But  the  surest  test  of  the  civilization  of  a people — at  least,  as 
sure  as  any — afforded  by  mechanical  art  is  to  be  found  in  their 


32  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  8,  cap.  25. 

23  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  5,  cap.  7 ; lib.  6,  cap.  8. — Ondegardo,  Rel.  Seg., 
MS. — This,  which  Bonaparte  thought  so  incredible  of  the  little  island  of  Loo  Choo,  was 
still  more  extraordinary  in  a great  and  flourishing  empire  like  Peru — the  country,  too, 
which  contained  within  its  bowels  the  treasures  that  were  one  day  to  furnish  Europe  with 
the  basis  of  its  vast  metallic  currency.  24  Ulloa,  Not.  Amer.,  ent.  21. 


128 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  I. 


architecture,  which  presents  so  noble  a field  for  the  display  of 
the  grand  and  the  beautiful,  and  which  at  the  same  time  is  so 
intimately  connected  with  the  essential  comforts  of  life.  There 
is  no  object  on  which  the  resources  of  the  wealthy  are  more 
freely  lavished,  or  which  calls  out  more  effectually  the  inventive 
talent  of  the  artist.  The  painter  and  the  sculptor  may  display 
their  individual  genius  in  creations  of  surpassing  excellence, 
but  it  is  the  great  monuments  of  architectural  taste  and  mag- 
nificence that  are  stamped  in  a peculiar  manner  by  the  genius 
of  the  nation.  The  Greek,  the  Egyptian,  the  Saracen,  the 
Gothic — what  a key  do  their  respective  styles  afford  to  the 
character  and  condition  of  the  people  ! The  monuments  of 
China,  of  Hindostan,  and  of  Central  America  are  all  indicative 
of  an  immature  period,  in  which  the  imagination  has  not  been 
disciplined  by  study,  and  which,  therefore,  in  its  best  results, 
betrays  only  the  ill-regulated  aspirations  after  the  beautiful  that 
belong  to  a semi-civilized  people. 

The  Peruvian  architecture,  bearing  also  the  general  charac- 
teristics of  an  imperfect  state  of  refinement,  had  still  its  peculiar 
character ; and  so  uniform  was  that  character  that  the  edifices 
throughout  the  country  seem  to  have  been  all  cast  in  the  same 
mould.26  They  were  usually  built  of  porphyry  or  granite  ; not 
infrequently  of  brick.  This,  which  was  formed  into  blocks  or 
squares  of  much  larger  dimensions  than  our  brick,  was  made 
of  a tenacious  earth  mixed  up  with  reeds  or  tough  grass,  and 
acquired  a degree  of  hardness  with  age  that  made  it  insensible 
alike  to  the  storms  and  the  more  trying  sun  of  the  tropics.26 
The  walls  were  of  great  thickness,  but  low,  seldom  reaching  to 
more  than  twelve  or  fourteen  feet  in  height.  It  is  rare  to  meet 
with  accounts  of  a building  that  rose  to  a second  story.27 

25  It  is  the  observation  of  Humboldt,  “11  est  impossible  d’examiner  attentivement  un 
seul  Edifice  du  temps  des  Incas,  sans  reconnoitre  le  meme  type  dans  tous  les  autres  qui 
couvrent  le  dos  des  Andes,  sur  line  longueur  de  plus  de  quatre  cent  cinquante  lieues,  de- 
puis  mille  jusqu’a  quatre  mille  metres  d’ elevation  au-dessus  du  niveau  de  l’Ocean.  On 
dirait  qu’un  seul  architecte  a construit  ce  grand  nombre  de  monumens.” — Vues  des  Cor- 
dilleres,  p.  197. 

26  Ulloa,  who  carefully  examined  these  bricks,  suggests  that  there  must  have  been  some 
secret  in  their  composition — so  superior  in  many  respects  to  our  own  manufacture — now 
lost.  Not.  Amer.,  ent.  20. 

27  Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 


CHAP.  V.) 


ARCHITECTURE. 


129 


The  apartments  had  no  communication  with  one  another, 
but  usually  opened  into  a court ; and,  as  they  were  unprovided 
with  windows,  or  apertures  that  served  for  them,  the  only  light 
from  without  must  have  been  admitted  by  the  doorways. 
These  were  made  with  the  sides  approaching  each  other  tow- 
ard the  top,  so  that  the  lintel  was  considerably  narrower  than 
the  threshhold,  a peculiarity,  also,  in  Egyptian  architecture. 
The  roofs  have,  for  the  most  part,  disappeared  with  time. 
Some  few  survive  in  the  less  ambitious  edifices,  of  a singular 
bell-shape,  and  made  of  a composition  of  earth  and  pebbles. 
They  are  supposed,  however,  to  have  been  generally  formed  of 
more  perishable  materials,  of  wood  or  straw.  It  is  certain  that 
some  of  the  most  considerable  stone  buildings  were  thatched 
with  straw.  Many  seem  to  have  been  constructed  without  the 
aid  of  cement ; and  writers  have  contended  that  the  Peruvians 
were  unacquainted  with  the  use  of  mortar,  or  cement  of  any 
kind.38  But  a close,  tenacious  mould,  mixed  with  lime,  may 
be  discovered  filling  up  the  interstices  of  the  granite  in  some 
buildings ; and  in  others,  where  the  well-fitted  blocks  leave  no 
room  for  this  coarser  material,  the  eye  of  the  antiquary  has  de- 
tected a fine  bituminous  glue,  as  hard  as  the  rock  itself.29 

The  greatest  simplicity  is  observed  in  the  construction  of 
the  buildings,  which  are  usually  free  from  outward  ornament ; 
though  in  some  the  huge  stones  are  shaped  into  a convex  form 
with  great  regularity,  and  adjusted  with  such  nice  precision  to 
one  another  that  it  would  be  impossible,  but  for  the  flutings, 
to  determine  the  line  of  junction.  In  others  the  stone  is 
rough,  as  it  was  taken  from  the  quarry,  in  the  most  irregular 
forms,  with  the  edges  nicely  wrought  and  fitted  to  each  other. 

28  Among  others,  see  Acosta,  lib.  6,  cap.  15. — Robertson,  History  of  America  (London, 
1796),  vol.  iii.,  p.  213. 

29  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. — Ulloa,  Not.  Amer.,  ent.  21. — Humboldt,  who  analyzed 
the  cement  of  the  ancient  structures  at  Cannar,  says  that  it  is  a true  mortar,  formed  of  a 
mixture  of  pebbles  and  a clayey  marl.  (Vues  des  Cordilleres,  p.  116.)  Father  Velasco  is 
in  raptures  with  an  “ almost  imperceptible  kind  of  cement  ” made  of  lime  and  a bituminous 
substance  resembling  glue,  which  incorporated  with  the  stones  so  as  to  hold  them  firmly 
together  like  one  solid  mass,  yet  left  nothing  visible  to  the  eye  of  the  common  observer. 
This  glutinous  composition,  mixed  with  pebbles,  made  a sort  of  macadamized  road  much 
used  by  the  Incas,  as  hard  and  almost  as  smooth  as  marble. — Hist,  de  Quito,  tom.  i.,  pp. 
126-128. 


130  CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS.  [book  i. 

There  is  no  appearance  of  columns  or  of  arches  ; though  there 
is  some  contradiction  as  to  the  latter  point.  But  it  is  not  to 
be  doubted  that,  although  they  may  have  made  some  approach 
to  this  mode  of  construction  by  the  greater  or  less  inclination 
of  the  walls,  the  Peruvian  architects  were  wholly  unacquainted 
with  the  true  principle  of  the  circular  arch  reposing  on  its  key- 
stone. 30 

The  architecture  of  the  Incas  is  characterized,  says  an  emi- 
nent traveller,  ‘ ‘ by  simplicity,  symmetry,  and  solidity.  ’ * 31 
It  may  seem  unphilosophical  to  condemn  the  peculiar  fashion 
of  a nation  as  indicating  want  of  taste,  because  its  standard  of 
taste  differs  from  our  own.  Yet  there  is  an  incongruity  in  the 
composition  of  the  Peruvian  buildings  which  argues  a very 
imperfect  acquaintance  with  the  first  principles  of  architecture. 
While  they  put  together  their  bulky  masses  of  porphyry  and 
granite  with  the  nicest  art,  they  were  incapable  of  mortising 
their  timbers,  and,  in  the  ignorance  of  iron,  knew  no  better 
way  of  holding  the  beams  together  than  tying  them  with  thongs 
of  maguey.  In  the  same  incongruous  spirit,  the  building  that 
was  thatched  with  straw  and  unilluminated  by  a window  was 
glowing  with  tapestries  of  gold  and  silver  ! These  are  the  in- 
consistencies of  a rude  people,  among  whom  the  arts  are  but 
partially  developed.  It  might  not  be  difficult  to  find  examples 
of  like  inconsistency  in  the  architecture  and  domestic  arrange- 
ments of  our  Anglo-Saxon  and,  at  a still  later  period,  of  our 
Norman  ancestors. 

Yet  the  buildings  of  the  Incas  were  accommodated  to  the 
character  of  the  climate,  and  were  well  fitted  to  resist  those 
terrible  convulsions  which  belong  to  the  land  of  volcanoes. 
The  wisdom  of  their  plan  is  attested  by  the  number  which  still 
survive,  while  the  more  modern  constructions  of  the  Conquer- 
ors have  been  buried  in  ruins.  The  hand  of  the  Conquerors, 
indeed,  has  fallen  heavily  on  these  venerable  monuments,  and, 

30  Condamine,  Mem.  ap.  Hist,  de  l’Acad.  Royale  de  Berlin,  tom.  ii.,  p.  448. — Antig.  y 
Monumentos  del  Peru,  MS. — Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.,  5,  lib.  4,  cap.  4. — Acosta,  lib.  6, 
cap.  14. — Ulloa,  Voyage  to  South  America,  vol.  i.,  p.  469. — Ondegardo,  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. 

31  “ Simplicity,  symetrie,  et  solidite,  voili  les  trois  caractferes  par  lesquels  se  distinguent 
avantageusement  tous  les  edifices  penmens.”  Humboldt,  Vues  des  Cordilleres,  p.  115. 


CHAP.  V.] 


CONCLUDING  REFLECTIONS. 


131 

in  their  blind  and  superstitious  search  for  hidden  treasure,  has 
caused  infinitely  more  ruin  than  time  or  the  earthquake. 32  Yet 
enough  of  these  monuments  still  remain  to  invite  the  researches 
of  the  antiquary.  Those  only  in  the  most  conspicuous  situa- 
tions have  been  hitherto  examined.  But,  by  the  testimony  of 
travellers,  many  more  are  to  be  found  in  the  less  frequented 
parts  of  the  country ; and  we  may  hope  they  will  one  day  call 
forth  a kindred  spirit  of  enterprise  to  that  which  has  so  suc- 
cessfully explored  the  mysterious  recesses  of  Central  America 
and  Yucatan. 

I cannot  close  this  analysis  of  the  Peruvian  institutions  with- 
out a few  reflections  on  their  general  character  and  tendency, 
which,  if  they  involve  some  repetition  of  previous  remarks, 
may,  I trust,  be  excused,  from  my  desire  to  leave  a correct 
and  consistent  impression  on  the  reader.  In  this  survey  we 
cannot  but  be  struck  with  the  total  dissimilarity  between  these 
institutions  and  those  of  the  Aztecs— the  other  great  nation 
who  led  in  the  march  of  civilization  on  this  Western  continent, 
and  whose  empire  in  the  northern  portion  of  it  was  as  conspic- 
uous as  that  of  the  Incas  in  the  south.  Both  nations  came  on 
the  plateau  and  commenced  their  career  of  conquest  at  dates, 
it  may  be,  not  far  removed  from  each  other.33  And  it  is 

82  The  anonymous  author  of  the  Antig.  y Monumentos  del  Peru,  MS.,  gives  us,  at  second 
hand,  one  of  those  golden  traditions  which,  in  early  times,  fostered  the  spirit  of  adventure. 
The  tradition,  in  this  instance,  he  thinks  well  entitled  to  credit.  The  reader  will  judge  for 
himself. 

“ It  is  a well-authenticated  report,  and  generally  received,  that  there  is  a secret  hall  in 
the  fortress  of  Cuzco,  where  an  immense  treasure  is  concealed,  consisting  of  the  statues  of 
all  the  Incas,  wrought  in  gold.  A lady  is  still  living,  Dona  Maria  de  Esquivel,  the  wife  of 
the  last  Inca,  who  has  visited  this  hall,  and  I have  heard  her  relate  the  way  in  which  she 
was  carried  to  see  it. 

“ Don  Carlos,  the  lady’s  husband,  did  not  maintain  a style  of  living  becoming  his  high 
rank.  Dona  Maria  sometimes  reproached  him,  declaring  that  she  had  been  deceived  into 
marrying  a poor  Indian  under  the  lofty  title  of  Lord  or  Inca.  She  said  this  so  frequently 
that  Don  Carlos  one  night  exclaimed,  ‘ Lady  ! do  you  wish  to  know  whether  I am  rich  or 
poor?  You  shall  see  that  no  lord  nor  king  in  the  world  has  a larger  treasure  than  I have.* 
Then,  covering  her  eyes  with  a handkerchief,  he  made  her  turn  round  two  or  three  times, 
and,  taking  her  by  the  hand,  led  her  a short  distance  before  he  removed  the  bandage.  On 
opening  her  eyes,  what  was  her  amazement  ! She  had  gone  not  more  than  two  hundred 
paces,  and  descended  a short  flight  of  steps,  and  she  now  found  herself  in  a large  quadran- 
gular hall,  where,  ranged  on  benches  round  the  walls,  she  beheld  the  statues  of  the  Incas, 
each  of  the  size  of  a boy  twelve  years  old,  all  of  massive  gold  ! She  saw  also  many  vessels  of 
gold  and  silver.  * In  fact,’  she  said.  * it  was  one  of  the  most  magnificent  treasures  in  the 
whole  world  ! ’ ” 83  Ante,  chap.  i. 


132 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[book  1 


worthy  of  notice  that,  in  America,  the  elevated  region  along 
the  crests  of  the  great  mountain  ranges  should  have  been  the 
chosen  seat  of  civilization  in  both  hemispheres. 

Very  different  was  the  policy  pursued  by  the  two  races  in 
their  military  career.  The  Aztecs,  animated  by  the  most 
ferocious  spirit,  carried  on  a war  of  extermination,  signalizing 
their  triumphs  by  the  sacrifice  of  hecatombs  of  captives ; while 
the  Incas,  although  they  pursued  the  game  of  conquest  with 
equal  pertinacity,  preferred  a milder  policy,  substituting  nego- 
tiation and  intrigue  for  violence,  and  dealt  with  their  antago- 
nists so  that  their  future  resources  should  not  be  crippled,  and 
that  they  should  come  as  friends,  not  as  foes,  into  the  bosom 
of  the  empire. 

Their  policy  toward  the  conquered  forms  a contrast  no  less 
striking  to  that  pursued  by  the  Aztecs.  The  Mexican  vassals 
were  ground  by  excessive  imposts  and  military  conscriptions. 
No  regard  was  had  to  their  welfare,  and  the  only  limit  to  op- 
pression was  the  power  of  endurance.  They  were  overawed 
by  fortresses  and  armed  garrisons,  and  were  made  to  feel  every 
hour  that  they  were  not  part  and  parcel  of  the  nation,  but 
held  only  in  subjugation  as  a conquered  people.  The  Incas, 
on  the  other  hand,  admitted  their  new  subjects  at  once  to  all 
the  rights  enjoyed  by  the  rest  of  the  community ; and,  though 
they  made  them  conform  to  the  established  laws  and  usages  of 
the  empire,  they  watched  over  their  personal  security  and  com- 
fort with  a sort  of  parental  solicitude.  The  motley  population, 
thus  bound  together  by  common  interest,  was  animated  by  a 
common  feeling  of  loyalty,  which  gave  greater  strength  and 
stability  to  the  empire  as  it  became  more  and  more  widely  ex- 
tended ; while  the  various  tribes  who  successively  came  under 
the  Mexican  sceptre,  being  held  together  only  by  the  pressure 
of  external  force,  were  ready  to  fall  asunder  the  moment  that 
that  force  was  withdrawn.  The  policy  of  the  two  nations  dis- 
played the  principle  of  fear  as  contrasted  with  the  principle  of 
love. 

The  characteristic  features  of  their  religious  systems  had  as 
little  resemblance  to  each  other.  The  whole  Aztec  pantheon 


CHAP.  V.] 


CONCLUDING  REFLECTIONS. 


133 


partook  more  or  less  of  the  sanguinary  spirit  of  the  terrible 
war-god  who  presided  over  it,  and  their  frivolous  ceremonial 
almost  always  terminated  with  human  sacrifice  and  cannibal 
orgies.  But  the  rites  of  the  Peruvians  were  of  a more  innocent 
cast,  as  they  tended  to  a more  spiritual  worship.  For  the 
worship  of  the  Creator  is  most  nearly  approached  by  that  of 
the  heavenly  bodies,  which,  as  they  revolve  in  their  bright 
orbits,  seem  to  be  the  most  glorious  symbols  of  his  beneficence 
and  power. 

In  the  minuter  mechanical  arts  both  showed  considerable 
skill ; but  in  the  construction  of  important  public  works,  of 
roads,  aqueducts,  canals,  and  in  agriculture  in  all  its  details, 
the  Peruvians  were  much  superior.  Strange  that  they  should 
have  fallen  so  far  below  their  rivals  in  their  efforts  after  a higher 
intellectual  culture,  in  astronomical  science  more  especially, 
and  in  the  art  of  communicating  thought  by  visible  symbols. 
When  we  consider  the  greater  refinement  of  the  Incas,  their  infe- 
riority to  the  Aztecs  in  these  particulars  can  be  explained  only 
by  the  fact  that  the  latter,  in  all  probability,  were  indebted  for 
their  science  to  the  race  who  preceded  them  in  the  land — that 
shadowy  race  whose  origin  and  whose  end  are  alike  veiled  from 
the  eye  of  the  inquirer,  but  who  possibly  may  have  sought  a 
refuge  from  their  ferocious  invaders  in  those  regions  of  Central 
America,  the  architectural  remains  of  which  now  supply  us 
with  the  most  pleasing  monuments  of  Indian  civilization.  It  is 
with  this  more  polished  race,  to  whom  the  Peruvians  seem  to 
have  borne  some  resemblance  in  their  mental  and  moral  organ- 
ization, that  they  should  be  compared.  Had  the  empire  of 
the  Incas  been  permitted  to  extend  itself  with  the  rapid  strides 
with  which  it  was  advancing  at  the  period  of  the  Spanish  con- 
quest, the  two  races  might  have  come  into  conflict,  or  perhaps 
into  alliance,  with  one  another.  | 

The  Mexicans  and  Peruvians,  so  different  in  the  character  of 
their  peculiar  civilization,  were,  it  seems  probable,  ignorant  of 
each  other’s  existence  ; and  it  may  appear  singular  that,  during 
the  simultaneous  continuance  of  their  empires,  some  of  the 
seeds  of  science  and  of  art  which  pass  so  imperceptibly  from 


134 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  I. 


one  people  to  another  should  not  have  found  their  way  across 
the  interval  which  separated  the  two  nations.  They  furnish 
an  interesting  example  of  the  opposite  directions  which  the 
human  mind  may  take  in  its  struggle  to  emerge  from  darkness 
into  the  light  of  civilization. 

A closer  resemblance— as  I have  more  than  once  taken  occa- 
sion to  notice — may  be  found  between  the  Peruvian  institu- 
tions and  some  of  the  despotic  governments  of  Eastern  Asia ; 
those  governments  where  despotism  appears  in  its  more  miti- 
gated form,  and  the  whole  people,  under  the  patriarchal  sway 
of  the  sovereign,  seem  to  be  gathered  together  like  the  members 
of  one  vast  family.  Such  were  the  Chinese,  for  example, 
whom  the  Peruvians  resembled  in  their  implicit  obedience  to 
authority,  their  mild  yet  somewhat  stubborn  temper,  their  SO' 
licitude  for  forms,  their  reverence  for  ancient  usage,  their  skill 
in  the  minuter  manufactures,  their  imitative  rather  than  inven- 
tive cast  of  mind,  and  their  invincible  patience,  which  serves 
instead  of  a more  adventurous  spirit  for  the  execution  of  diffi- 
cult undertakings.34 

A still  closer  analogy  may  be  found  with  the  natives  of  Hin- 
dostan  in  their  division  into  castes,  their  worship  of  the  heav- 
enly bodies  and  the  elements  of  nature,  and  their  acquaintance 
with  the  scientific  principles  of  husbandry.  To  the  ancient 
Egyptians,  also,  they  bore  considerable  resemblance  in  the 
same  particulars,  as  well  as  in  those  ideas  of  a future  existence 
which  led  them  to  attach  so  much  importance  to  the  permanent 
preservation  of  the  body. 

But  we  shall  look  in  vain  in  the  history  of  the  East  for  a 
parallel  to  the  absolute  control  exercised  by  the  Incas  over 
their  subjects.  In  the  East,  this  was  founded  on  physical 
power, — on  the  external  resources  of  the  government.  The 
authority  of  the  Inca  might  be  compared  with  that  of  the  Pope 
in  the  day  of  his  might,  when  Christendom  trembled  at  the 

34  Count  Carli  has  amused  himself  with  tracing  out  the  different  points  of  resemblance 
between  the  Chinese  and  the  Peruvians.  The  Emperor  of  China  was  styled  the  son  of 
Heaven  or  of  the  Sun.  He  also  held  a plough  once  a year  in  presence  of  his  people,  to 
show  his  respect  for  agriculture.  And  the  solstices  and  equinoxes  were  noted,  to  deter- 
mine the  periods  of  their  religious  festivals.  The  coincidences’are  curious.  Lettres  Ameri- 
caines,  tom.  ii.  pp.  7,  8. 


CHAP.  V.] 


CONCLUDING  REFLECTIONS. 


135 


thunders  of  the  Vatican,  and  the  successor  of  St.  Peter  set  his 
foot  on  the  necks  of  princes.  But  the  authority  of  the  Pope 
was  founded  on  opinion.  His  temporal  power  was  nothing. 
The  empire  of  the  Incas  rested  on  both.  It  was  a theocracy 
more  potent  in  its  operation  than  that  of  the  Jews ; for, 
though  the  sanction  of  the  law  might  be  as  great  among  the 
latter,  the  law  was  expounded  by  a human  law -giver,  the  ser- 
vant and  representative  of  Divinity.  But  the  Inca  was  both 
the  law -giver  and  the  law.  He  was  not  merely  the  representa- 
tive of  Divinity,  or,  like  the  Pope,  its  vicegerent,  but  he  was 
Divinity  itself.  The  violation  of  his  ordinance  was  sacrilege. 
Never  was  there  a scheme  of  government  enforced  by  such  ter- 
rible sanctions,  or  which  bore  so  oppressively  on  the  subjects 
of  it.  For  it  reached  not  only  to  the  visible  acts,  but  to  the 
private  conduct,  the  words,  the  very  thoughts,  of  its  vassals. 

It  added  not  a little  to  the  efficacy  of  the  government  that 
below  the  sovereign  there  was  an  order  of  hereditary  nobles  of 
the  same  divine  original  with  himself,  who,  placed  far  below 
himself,  were  still  immeasurably  above  the  rest  of  the  commu- 
nity, not  merely  by  descent,  but,  as  it  would  seem,  by  their  in- 
tellectual nature.  These  were  the  exclusive  depositaries  of 
power,  and,  as  their  long  hereditary  training  made  them  fa- 
miliar with  their  vocation  and  secured  them  implicit  deference 
from  the  multitude,  they  became  the  prompt  and  well-prac- 
tised agents  for  carrying  out  the  executive  measures  of  the  ad- 
ministration. All  that  occurred  throughout  the  wide  extent  of 
his  empire — such  was  the  perfect  system  of  communication — 
passed  in  review,  as  it  were,  before  the  eyes  of  the  monarch, 
and  a thousand  hands,  armed  with  irresistible  authority,  stood 
ready  in  every  quarter  to  do  his  bidding.  Was  it  not,  as  we 
have  said,  the  most  oppressive,  though  the  mildest,  of  despot- 
isms? 

It  was  the  mildest,  from  the  very  circumstance  that  the 
transcendent  rank  of  the  sovereign,  and  the  humble,  nay,  su- 
perstitious, devotion  to  his  will,  made  it  superfluous  to  assert 
this  will  by  acts  of  violence  or  rigor.  The  great  mass  of  the 
people  may  have  appeared  to  his  eyes  as  but  little  removed 


136  CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS.  [book  I. 

above  the  condition  of  the  brute,  formed  to  minister  to  his 
pleasures.  But  from  their  very  helplessness  he  regarded  them 
with  feelings  of  commiseration,  like  those  which  a kind  master 
might  feel  for  the  poor  animals  committed  to  his  charge,  or — 
to  do  justice  to  the  beneficent  character  attributed  to  many  of 
the  Incas — that  a parent  might  feel  for  his  young  and  impotent 
offspring.  The  laws  were  carefully  directed  to  their  preserva- 
tion, and  personal  comfort.  The  people  were  not  allowed  to 
be  employed  on  works  pernicious  to  their  health,  nor  to  pine 
— a sad  contrast  to  their  subsequent  destiny — under  the  impo- 
sition of  tasks  too  heavy  for  their  powers.  They  were  never 
made  the  victims  of  public  or  private  extortion  ; and  a benev- 
olent forecast  watched  carefully  over  their  necessities,  and  pro- 
vided for  their  relief  in  seasons  of  infirmity  and  for  their  sus- 
tenance in  health.  The  government  of  the  Incas,  however 
arbitrary  in  form,  was  in  its  spirit  truly  patriarchal. 

Yet  in  this  there  was  nothing  cheering  to  the  dignity  of 
human  nature.  What  the  people  had  was  conceded  as  a boon, 
not  as  a right.  When  a nation  was  brought  under  the  sceptre 
of  the  Incas,  it  resigned  every  personal  right,  even  the  rights 
dearest  to  humanity.  Under  this  extraordinary  polity,  a peo- 
ple advanced  in  many  of  the  social  refinements,  well  skilled  in 
manufactures  and  agriculture,  were  unacquainted,  as  we  have 
seen,  with  money.  They  had  nothing  that  deserved  to  be 
called  property.  They  could  follow  no  craft,  could  engage  in 
no  labor,  no  amusement,  but  such  as  was  specially  provided  by 
law.  They  could  not  change  their  residence  or  their  dress 
without  a license  from  the  government.  They  could  not  even 
exercise  the  freedom  which  is  conceded  to  the  most  abject  in 
other  countries — that  of  selecting  their  own  wives.  The  im- 
perative spirit  of  despotism  would  not  allow  them  to  be  happy 
or  miserable  in  any  way  but  that  established  by  law.  The 
power  of  free  agency — the  inestimable  and  inborn  right  of 
every  human  being — was  annihilated  in  Peru. 

The  astonishing  mechanism  of  the  Peruvian  polity  could 
have  resulted  only  from  the  combined  authority  of  opinion  and 
positive  power  in  the  ruler  to  an  extent  unprecedented  in  the 


CHAV.  V.] 


CONCLUDING  REFLECTIONS. 


137 


history  of  man.  Yet  that  it  should  have  so  successfully  gone 
into  operation,  and  so  long  endured,  in  opposition  to  the  taste, 
the  prejudices,  and  the  very  principles  of  our  nature,  is  a strong 
proof  of  a generally  wise  and  temperate  administration  of  the 
government. 

The  policy  habitually  pursued  by  the  Incas  for  the  preven- 
tion of  evils  that  might  have  disturbed  the  order  of  things  is 
well  exemplified  in  their  provisions  against  poverty  and  idle- 
ness. In  these  they  rightly  discerned  the  two  great  causes  of 
disaffection  in  a populous  community.  The  industry  of  the 
people  was  secured  not  only  by  their  compulsory  occupations 
at  home,  but  by  their  employment  on  those  great  public  works 
which  covered  every  part  of  the  country,  and  which  still  bear 
testimony  in  their  decay  to  their  primitive  grandeur.  Yet  it 
may  well  astonish  us  to  find  that  the  natural  difficulty  of  these 
undertakings,  sufficiently  great  in  itself,  considering  the  imper- 
fection of  their  tools  and  machinery,  was  inconceivably  en- 
hanced by  the  politic  contrivance  of  the  government.  The 
royal  edifices  of  Quito,  we  are  assured  by  the  Spanish  con- 
querors, were  constructed  of  huge  masses  of  stone,  many  of 
which  were  carried  all  the  way  along  the  mountain-roads  from 
Cuzco,  a distance  of  several  hundred  leagues.36  The  great 
square  of  the  capital  was  filled  to  a considerable  depth  with 
mould  brought  with  incredible  labor  up  the  steep  slopes  of 
the  Cordilleras  from  the  distant  shores  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.88 

36  “ Era  muy  principal  intento  que  la  gente  no  holgase,  que  dava  causa  a que  despues 
que  los  Ingas  estuvieron  en  paz  hacer  traer  de  Quito  al  Cuzco  piedra  que  venia  de  provin- 
cia  en  provincia  para  hacer  casas  para  si  6 p»  el  Sol  en  gran  cantidad,  y del  Cuzco  llevalla 
a Quito  pa  el  mismo  efecto,  . . . y asi  destas  cosas  hacian  los  Ingas  muchas  de  poco 

provecho  y de  escesivo  travajo  en  que  traian  ocupadas  las  provincias  ordinariamte,  y en 
fin  el  travajo  era  causa  de  su  conservacion.”  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS. — Also  Antig. 
y Monumentos  del  Peru,  MS. 

36  This  was  literally  gold  dust ; for  Ondegardo  states  that,  when  Governor  of  Cuzco,  he 
caused  great  quantities  of  gold  vessels  and  ornaments  to  be  disinterred  from  the  sand  in 
which  they  had  been  secreted  by  the  natives  : “Que  toda  aquella  plaza  del  Cuzco  le  saca- 
ron  la  tierra  propia,  y se  Uev6  & otras  partes  por  cosa  de  gran  estima,  e la  hincheron  de 
arena  de  la  costa  de  la  mar,  como  hasta  dos  palmos  y medio  en  algunas  partes,  mas  sem- 
braron  por  toda  ella  muchos  vasos  de  oro  e plata,  y hovejuelas  y hombrecillos  pequenos  de 
lo  mismo,  lo  cual  se  ha  sacado  en  mucha  cantidad,  que  todo  lo  hemos  visto  ; desta  arena 
estaba  toda  la  plaza,  quando  yo  fui  A govemar  aquella  Ciudad  ; e si  fue  verdad  que  aquella 
se  trajo  de  ellos,  afirman  e tienen  puestos  en  sus  registros,  paresceme  que  sea  ansf,  que  toda 
la  tierra  junta  tubo  necesidad  de  entender  en  ello,  por  que  la  plaza  es  grande,  y no  tiene 


I3« 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  I. 


Labor  was  regarded  not  only  as  a means,  but  as  an  end,  by  the 
Peruvian  law. 

With  their  manifold  provisions  against  poverty  the  reader 
has  already  been  made  acquainted.  They  were  so  perfect  that 
in  their  wide  extent  of  territory — much  of  it  smitten  with  the 
curse  of  barrenness — no  man,  however  humble,  suffered  for  the 
want  of  food  and  clothing.  Famine,  so  common  a scourge  in 
every  other  American  nation,  so  common  at  that  period  in 
every  country  of  civilized  Europe,  was  an  evil  unknown  in  the 
dominions  of  the  Incas. 

The  most  enlightened  of  the  Spaniards  who  first  visited  Peru, 
struck  with  the  general  appearance  of  plenty  and  prosperity, 
and  with  the  astonishing  order  with  which  everything  through- 
out the  country  was  regulated,  are  loud  in  their  expressions  of 
admiration.  No  better  government,  in  their  opinion,  could 
have  been  devised  for  the  people.  Contented  with  their  con- 
dition, and  free  from  vice,  to  borrow  the  language  of  an  emi- 
nent authority  of  that  early  day,  the  mild  and  docile  character 
of  the  Peruvians  would  have  well  fitted  them  to  receive  the 
teachings  of  Christianity,  had  the  love  of  conversion,  instead 
of  gold,  animated  the  breasts  of  the  Conquerors. 37  And  a 
philosopher  of  a later  time,  warmed  by  the  contemplation  of 
the  picture — which  his  own  fancy  had  colored — of  public  pros- 
perity and  private  happiness  under  the  rule  of  the  Incas,  pro- 

numero  las  cargas  que  en  ella  entraron  ; y la  costa  por  lo  mas  cerca  esta  mas  de  nobenta 
leguas  a lo  que  creo,  y cierto  yo  me  satisfice,  porque  todos  dicen,  que  aquel  genero  de  arena, 
no  lo  hay  hasta  la  costa.”  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. 

37  “ Y si  Dios  permitiera  que  tubieran  quien  con  celo  de  Cristiandad,  y no  con  ramo  de 
codicia,  en  lo  pasado,  les  dieran  entera  noticia  de  nuestra  sagrada  Religion,  era  gente  en 
que  bien  imprimiera,  segun  vemos  por  lo  que  ahora  con  la  buena  orden  que  hay  se  obra.” 
Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  22. — But  the  most  emphatic  testimony  to  the  merits  of  the 
people  is  that  afforded  by  Mancio  Sierra  Lejesema,  the  last  survivor  of  the  early  Spanish 
Conquerors,  who  settled  in  Peru.  In  the  preamble  to  his  testament,  made,  as  he  states,  to 
relieve  his  conscience,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  he  declares  that  the  whole  population,  under 
the  Incas,  was  distinguished  by  sobriety  and  industry  ; that  such  things  as  robbery  and 
theft  were  unknown  ; that,  far  from  licentiousness,  there  was  not  even  a prostitute  in  the 
country ; and  that  everything  was  conducted  with  the  greatest  order,  and  entire  submis- 
sion to  authority.  The  panegyric  is  somewhat  too  unqualified  for  a whole  nation,  and  may 
lead  one  to  suspect  that  the  stings  of  remorse  for  his  own  treatment  of  the  natives  goaded 
the  dying  veteran  into  a higher  estimate  of  their  deserts  than  was  strictly  warranted  by 
facts.  Yet  this  testimony  by  such  a man  at  such  a time  is  too  remarkable,  as  well  as  too 
honorable  to  the  Peruvians,  to  be  passed  over  in  silence  by  the  historian  ; and  I have  trans- 
ferred the  document  in  the  original  to  Appendix  No.  4. 


CONCLUDING  REFLECTIONS. 


CHAP.  V.] 


139 


nounces  “ the  moral  man  in  Peru  far  superior  to  the  Euro- 
pean.” 88 

Yet  such  results  are  scarcely  reconcilable  with  the  theory  of 
the  government  I have  attempted  to  analyze.  Where  there  is 
no  free  agency  there  can  be  no  morality.  Where  there  is  no 
temptation  there  can  be  little  claim  to  virtue.  Where  the 
routine  is  rigorously  prescribed  by  law,  the  law,  and  not  the 
man,  must  have  the  credit  of  the  conduct.  If  that  government 
is  the  best  which  is  felt  the  least,  which  encroaches  on  the 
natural  liberty  of  the  subject  only  so  far  as  is  essential  to  civil 
subordination,  then  of  all  governments  devised  by  man  the 
Peruvian  has  the  least  real  claim  to  our  admiration. 

It  is  not  easy  to  comprehend  the  genius  and  the  full  import 
of  institutions  so  opposite  to  those  of  our  own  free  republic, 
where  every  man,  however  humble  his  condition,  may  aspire 
to  the  highest  honors  of  the  state — may  select  his  own  career 
and  carve  out  his  fortune  in  his  own  way ; where  the  light  of 
knowledge,  instead  of  being  concentrated  on  a chosen  few,  is 
shed  abroad  like  the  light  of  day,  and  suffered  to  fall  equally 
on  the  poor  and  the  rich  ; where  the  collision  of  man  with 
man  wakens  a generous  emulation  that  calls  out  latent  talent 
and  tasks  the  energies  to  the  utmost ; where  consciousness  of 
independence  gives  a feeling  of  self-reliance  unknown  to  the 
timid  subjects  of  a despotism  ; where,  in  short,  the  government 
is  made  for  man — not  as  in  Peru,  where  man  seemed  to  be 
made  only  for  the  government.  The  New  World  is  the  theatre 
on  which  these  two  political  systems,  so  opposite  in  their  char- 
acter, have  been  carried  into  operation.  The  empire  of  the 
Incas  has  passed  away  and  left  no  trace.  The  other  great  ex- 
periment is  still  going  on — the  experiment  which  is  to  solve  the 
problem,  so  long  contested  in  the  Old  World,  of  the  capacity  of 
man  for  self-government.  Alas  for  humanity,  if  it  should  fail  i 

The  testimony  of  the  Spanish  conquerors  is  not  uniform  in 
respect  to  the  favorable  influence  exerted  by  the  Peruvian  in- 
stitutions on  the  character  of  the  people.  Drinking  and  danc- 


88  “ Sans  doute  l’homme  moral  du  Perou  dtoit  infiniment  plus  perfectionne  que  I’Euro- 
p4en.”  Carli,  Lettres  Americaines,  tom.  i.  p.  215. 


140 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  I. 


ing  are  said  to  have  been  the  pleasures  to  which  they  were  im- 
moderately addicted.  Like  the  slaves  and  serfs  in  other  lands, 
whose  position  excluded  them  from  more  serious  and  ennobling 
occupations,  they  found  a substitute  in  frivolous  or  sensual  in- 
dulgence. Lazy,  luxurious,  and  licentious  are  the  epithets 
bestowed  on  them  by  one  of  those  who  saw  them  at  the  Con- 
quest, but  whose  pen  was  not  too  friendly  to  the  Indian. 39  Yet 
the  spirit  of  independence  could  hardly  be  strong  in  a people 
who  had  no  interest  in  the  soil,  no  personal  rights  to  defend ; 
and  the  facility  with  which  they  yielded  to  the  Spanish  in- 
vader— after  every  allowance  for  their  comparative  inferiority 
— argues  a deplorable  destitution  of  that  patriotic  feeling  which 
holds  life  as  little  in  comparison  with  freedom. 

But  we  must  not  judge  too  hardly  of  the  unfortunate  native 
because  he  quailed  before  the  civilization  of  the  European. 
We  must  not  be  insensible  to  the  really  great  results  that  were 
achieved  by  the  government  of  the  Incas.  We  must  not  forget 
that  under  their  rule  the  meanest  of  the  people  enjoyed  a far 
greater  degree  of  personal  comfort,  at  least  a greater  exemption 
from  physical  suffering,  than  was  possessed  by  similar  classes  in 
other  nations  on  the  American  continent — greater,  probably, 
than  was  possessed  by  these  classes  in  most  of  the  countries  of 
feudal  Europe.  Under  their  sceptre  the  higher  orders  of  the 
state  had  made  advances  in  many  of  the  arts  that  belong  to  a 
cultivated  community.  The  foundations  of  a regular  govern- 
ment were  laid,  which,  in  an  age  of  rapine,  secured  to  its  sub- 
jects the  inestimable  blessings  of  tranquillity  and  safety.  By 
the  well-sustained  policy  of  the  Incas,  the  rude  tribes  of  the 
forest  were  gradually  drawn  from  their  fastnesses  and  gathered 
within  the  folds  of  civilization  ; and  of  these  materials  was  con- 

39  “ Heran  muy  dados  d la  lujuria  y al  bevcr,  tenian  acceso  carnal  con  las  hermanas  y las 
mugeres  de  sus  padres  como  no  fuesen  sus  mismas  madres,  y aun  algunos  avia  que  con 
ellas  mismas  lo  hacian  y ansi  mismo  con  sus  hijas.  Estando  borrachos  tocavan  algunos  en 
el  pecado  nefando,  emborrachavanse  muy  a menudo,  y estando  borrachos  todo  lo  que  el 
demonio  les  traia  d la  voluntad  hacian.  Heran  estos  orejones  muy  soberbios  y presuntuosos. 
. . . Tenian  otras  muchas  maldades  que  por  ser  muchas  no  las  digo.”  Pedro  Pizarro, 

Descub.  y Conq.  MS. — These  random  aspersions  of  the  hard  conqueror  show  too  gross  an 
Ignorance  of  the  institutions  of  the  people  to  merit  much  confidence  as  to  what  is  said  of 
their  character. 


CHAP.  V.] 


SARMIENTO. 


HI 

attracted  a flourishing  and  populous  empire,  such  as  was  to  be 
found  in  no  other  quarter  of  the  American  continent.  The 
defects  of  this  government  were  those  of  over-refinement  in 
legislation — the  last  defects  to  have  been  looked  for,  certainly, 
in  the  American  aborigines. 

Note.  — I have  not  thought  it  necessary  to  swell  this  Introduction  by  an 
inquiry  into  the  origin  of  Peruvian  civilization,  like  that  appended  to  the 
history  of  the  Mexican.  The  Peruvian  history  doubtless  suggests  analogies 
with  more  than  one  nation  in  the  East,  some  of  which  have  been  briefly 
adverted  to  in  the  preceding  pages  ; although  these  analogies  are  adduced 
there  not  as  evidence  of  a common  origin,  but  as  showing  the  coincidences 
which  might  naturally  spring  up  among  different  nations  under  the  same 
phase  of  civilization.  Such  coincidences  are  neither  so  numerous  nor  so 
striking  as  those  afforded  by  the  Aztec  history.  The  correspondence  pre- 
sented by  the  astronomical  science  of  the  Mexicans  is  alone  of  more  im- 
portance than  all  the  rest.  Yet  the  light  of  analogy  afforded  by  the  insti- 
tutions of  the  Incas  seems  to  point,  as  far  as  it  goes,  toward  the  same 
direction  ; and  as  the  investigation  could  present  but  little  substantially  to 
confirm,  and  still  less  to  confute  the  views  taken  in  the  former  disquisition, 
I have  not  thought  it  best  to  fatigue  the  reader  with  it. 


Two  of  the  prominent  authorities  on  whom  I have  relied  in  this  Intro- 
ductory portion  of  the  work  are  Juan  de  Sarmiento  and  the  Licentiate 
Ondegardo.  Of  the  former  I have  been  able  to  collect  no  information  be- 
yond what  is  afforded  by  his  own  writings.  In  the  title  prefixed  to  his 
manuscript  he  is  styled  President  of  the  Council  of  the  Indies,  a post  of 
high  authority,  which  infers  a weight  of  character  and  means  of  informa- 
tion that  entitle  his  opinions  on  colonial  topics  to  great  deference. 

These  means  of  information  were  much  enlarged  by  Sarmiento’s  visit  to 
the  colonies  during  the  administration  of  Gasca.  Having  conceived  the 
design  of  compiling  a history  of  the  ancient  Peruvian  institutions,  he  vis- 
ited Cuzco,  as  he  tells  us,  in  1550,  and  there  drew  from  the  natives  them- 
selves the  materials  for  his  narrative.  His  position  gave  him  access  to  the 
most  authentic  sources  of  knowledge,  and  from  the  lips  of  the  Inca  nobles, 
the  best-instructed  of  the  conquered  race,  he  gathered  the  traditions  of 
their  national  history  and  institutions.  The  quipus  formed,  as  we  have 
seen,  an  imperfect  system  of  mnemonics,  requiring  constant  attention,  and 
much  inferior  to  the  Mexican  hieroglyphics.  It  was  only  by  diligent  in- 
struction that  they  were  made  available  to  historical  purposes  ; and  this 
instruction  was  so  far  neglected  after  the  Conquest  that  the  ancient  an- 
nals of  the  country  would  have  perished  with  the  generation  which  was  the 
sole  depositary  of  them,  had  it  not  been  for  the  efforts  of  a few  intelligent 


143 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  I. 


scholars,  like  Sarmiento,  who  saw  the  importance,  at  this  critical  period, 
of  cultivating  an  intercourse  with  the  natives  and  drawing  from  them  their 
hidden  stores  of  information. 

To  give  still  further  authenticity  to  his  work,  Sarmiento  travelled  over 
the  country,  examined  the  principal  objects  of  interest  with  his  own  eyes, 
and  thus  verified  the  accounts  of  the  natives  as  far  as  possible  by  personal 
observation.  The  result  of  these  labors  was  his  work  entitled  “ Relacion 
de  la  sucesion  y govierno  de  las  Yngas  Senores  naturales  que  fueron  de  las 
Provincias  del  Peru  y otras  cosas  tocantes  a aquel  Reyno,  para  el  Iltmo. 
Senor  Dn  Juan  Sarmiento,  Presidente  del  Consejo  R1  de  Indias.” 

It  is  divided  into  chapters,  and  embraces  about  four  hundred  folio  pages 
in  manuscript.  The  introductory  portion  of  the  work  is  occupied  with  the 
traditionary  tales  of  the  origin  and  early  period  of  the  Incas  : teeming,  as 
usual  in  the  antiquities  of  a barbarous  people,  with  legendary  fables  of  the 
most  wild  and  monstrous  character.  Yet  these  puerile  conceptions  afford 
an  inexhaustible  mine  for  the  labors  of  the  antiquarian,  who  endeavors  to 
unravel  the  allegorical  web  which  a cunning  priesthood  had  devised  as 
symbolical  of  those  mysteries  of  creation  that  it  was  beyond  their  power 
to  comprehend.  But  Sarmiento  happily  confines  himself  to  the  mere 
statement  of  traditional  fables,  without  the  chimerical  ambition  to  explain 
them. 

From  this  region  of  romance  Sarmiento  passes  to  the  institutions  of  the 
Peruvians,  describes  their  ancient  polity,  their  religion,  their  progress  in 
the  arts,  especially  agriculture,  and  presents,  in  short,  an  elaborate  picture 
of  the  civilization  which  they  reached  under  the  Inca  dynasty.  This  part 
of  his  work,  resting,  as  it  does,  on  the  best  authority,  confirmed  in  many 
instances  by  his  own  observation,  is  of  unquestionable  value,  and  is  written 
with  an  apparent  respect  for  truth,  that  engages  the  confidence  of  the 
reader.  The  concluding  portion  of  the  manuscript  is  occupied  with  the 
civil  history  of  the  country.  The  reigns  of  the  early  Incas,  which  lie  be- 
yond the  sober  province  of  history,  he  despatches  with  commendable  brev- 
ity. But  on  the  three  last  reigns — fortunately,  those  of  the  greatest  princes 
who  occupied  the  Peruvian  throne — he  is  more  diffuse.  This  was  compara- 
tively firm  ground  for  the  chronicler,  for  the  events  were  too  recent  to  be 
obscured  by  the  vulgar  legends  that  gather  like  moss  round  every  incident 
of  the  older  time.  His  account  stops  with  the  Spanish  invasion  ; for  this 
story,  Sarmiento  felt,  might  be  safely  left  to  his  contemporaries  who  acted 
a part  in  it,  but  whose  taste  and  education  had  qualified  them  but  indiffer- 
ently for  exploring  the  antiquities  and  social  institutions  of  the  natives. 

Sarmiento’ s work  is  composed  in  a simple,  perspicuous  style,  without 
that  ambition  of  rhetorical  display  too  common  with  his  countrymen.  He 
writes  with  honest  candor,  and,  while  he  does  ample  justice  to  the  merits 
and  capacity  of  the  conquered  races,  he  notices  with  indignation  the  atro- 
cities of  the  Spaniards  and  the  demoralizing  tendency  of  the  Conquest. 
It  may  be  thought,  indeed,  that  he  forms  too  high  an  estimate  of  the  at- 


CHAP.  V.] 


SARMIENTO . 


143 


tainments  of  the  nation  under  the  Incas.  And  it  is  not  improbable  that, 
astonished  by  the  vestiges  it  afforded  of  an  original  civilization,  he  be- 
came enamoured  of  his  subject,  and  thus  exhibited  it  in  colors  somewhat 
too  glowing  to  the  eye  of  the  European.  But  this  was  an  amiable  failing, 
not  too  largely  shared  by  the  stern  Conquerors,  who  subverted  the  institu- 
tions of  the  country,  and  saw  little  to  admire  in  it  save  its  gold.  It  must 
be  further  admitted  that  Sarmiento  has  no  design  to  impose  on  his 
reader,  and  that  he  is  careful  to  distinguish  between  what  he  reports  on 
hearsay  and  what  on  personal  experience.  The  F ather  of  History  him- 
self does  not  discriminate  between  these  two  things  more  carefully. 

Neither  is  the  Spanish  historian  to  be  altogether  vindicated  from  the 
superstition  which  belongs  to  his  time  ; and  we  often  find  him  referring 
to  the  immediate  interposition  of  Satan  those  effects  which  might  quite 
as  well  be  charged  on  the  perverseness  of  man.  But  this  was  common  to 
the  age,  and  to  the  wisest  men  in  it  ; and  it  is  too  much  to  demand  of  a 
man  to  be  wiser  than  his  generation.  It  is  sufficient  praise  of  Sarmiento, 
that,  in  an  age  when  superstition  was  too  often  allied  with  fanaticism,  he 
seems  to  have  had  no  tincture  of  bigotry  in  his  nature.  His  heart  opens 
with  benevolent  fulness  to  the  unfortunate  native  ; and  his  language, 
while  it  is  not  kindled  into  the  religious  glow  of  the  missionary,  is  warmed 
by  a generous  ray  of  philanthropy  that  embraces  the  conquered,  no  less 
than  the  conquerors,  as  his  brethren. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  value  of  Sarmiento’ s work  for  the  informa- 
tion it  affords  of  Peru  under  the  Incas,  it  is  but  little  known,  has  been 
rarely  consulted  by  historians,  and  still  remains  among  the  unpublished 
manuscripts  which  lie,  like  uncoined  bullion,  in  the  secret  chambers  of 
the  Escorial. 

The  other  authority,  to  whom  I have  alluded,  the  Licentiate  Polo  de 
Ondegardo,  was  a highly  respectable  jurist,  whose  name  appears  fre- 
quently in  the  affairs  of  Peru.  I find  no  account  of  the  period  when  he 
first  came  into  the  country.  But  he  was  there  on  the  arrival  of  Gasca, 
and  resided  at  Lima  under  the  usurpation  of  Gonzalo  Pizarro.  When  the 
artful  Cepeda  endeavored  to  secure  the  signatures  of  the  inhabitants  to 
the  instrument  proclaiming  the  sovereignty  of  his  chief,  we  find  Onde- 
gardo taking  the  lead  among  those  of  his  profession  in  resisting  it.  On 
Gasca’s  arrival  he  consented  to  take  a commission  in  his  army.  At  the 
close  of  the  rebellion  he  was  made  corregidor  of  La  Plata,  and  subse- 
quently of  Cuzco,  in  which  honorable  station  he  seems  to  have  remained 
several  years.  In  the  exercise  of  his  magisterial  functions  he  was  brought 
into  familiar  intercourse  with  the  natives,  and  had  ample  opportunity  for 
studying  their  laws  and  ancient  customs.  He  conducted  himself  with 
such  prudence  and  moderation  that  he  seems  to  have  won  the  confidence 
not  only  of  his  countrymen,  but  of  the  Indians  ; while  the  administration 
was  careful  to  profit  by  his  large  experience  in  devising  measures  for  the 
better  government  of  the  colony. 


i44 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  I. 


The  Relaciones , so  often  cited  in  this  History,  were  prepared  at  the 
suggestion  of  the  viceroys,  the  first  being  addressed  to  the  Marques  de 
Canete,  in  1561,  and  the  second,  ten  years  later,  to  the  Conde  de  Nieva. 
The  two  cover  about  as  much  ground  as  Sarmiento’s  manuscript ; and  the 
second  memorial,  written  so  long  after  the  first,  may  be  thought  to  inti- 
mate the  advancing  age  of  the  author,  in  the  great  carelessness  and  dif- 
fuseness of  the  composition. 

As  these  documents  are  in  the  nature  of  answers  to  the  interrogatories 
propounded  by  the  government,  the  range  of  topics  might  seem  to  be  lim- 
ited within  narrower  bounds  than  the  modern  historian  would  desire. 
These  queries,  indeed,  had  particular  reference  to  the  revenues,  the 
tributes — the  financial  administration,  in  short — of  the  Incas  ; and  on 
these  obscure  topics  the  communication  of  Ondegardo  is  particularly  full. 
But  the  enlightened  curiosity  of  the  government  embraced  a far  wider 
range  ; and  the  answers  necessarily  implied  an  acquaintance  with  the  do- 
mestic policy  of  the  Incas,  with  their  laws  and  social  habits,  their  religion, 
science,  and  arts,  in  short,  with  all  that  make  up  the  elements  of  civiliza- 
tion. Ondegardo’s  memoirs,  therefore,  cover  the  whole  ground  of  in- 
quiry for  the  philosophic  historian. 

In  the  management  of  these  various  subjects  Ondegardo  displays  both 
acuteness  and  erudition.  He  never  shrinks  from  the  discussion,  however 
difficult ; and  while  he  gives  his  conclusions  with  an  air  of  modesty,  it  is 
evident  that  he  feels  conscious  of  having  derived  his  information  through 
the  most  authentic  channels.  He  rejects  the  fabulous  with  disdain  ; de- 
cides on  the  probabilities  of  such  facts  as  he  relates,  and  candidly  ex- 
poses the  deficiency  of  evidence.  Far  from  displaying  the  simple  enthu- 
siasm of  the  well-meaning  but  credulous  missionary,  he  proceeds  with  the 
cool  and  cautious  step  of  a lawyer  accustomed  to  the  conflict  of  testimony 
and  the  uncertainty  of  oral  tradition.  The  circumspect  manner. of  pro- 
ceeding, and  the  temperate  character  of  his  judgments,  entitle  Ondegardo 
to  much  higher  consideration  as  an  authority  than  most  of  his  countrymen 
who  have  treated  of  Indian  antiquities. 

There  runs  through  his  writings  a vein  of  humanity,  shown  particularly 
in  his  tenderness  to  the  unfortunate  natives,  to  whose  ancient  civilization 
he  does  entire,  but  not  extravagant,  justice  ; while,  like  Sarmiento,  he 
fearlessly  denounces  the  excesses  of  his  own  countrymen,  and  admits  the 
dark  reproach  they  had  brought  on  the  honor  of  the  nation.  But  while 
this  censure  forms  the  strongest  ground  for  condemnation  of  the  Con- 
querors, since  it  comes  from  the  lips  of  a Spaniard  like  themselves,  it 
proves  also,  that  Spain  in  this  age  of  violence  could  send  forth  from  her 
bosom  wise  and  good  men  who  refused  to  make  common  cause  with  the 
licentious  rabble  around  them.  Indeed,  proof  enough  is  given  in  these 
very  memorials  of  the  unceasing  efforts  of  the  colonial  government,  from 
the  good  viceroy  Mendoza  downwards,  to  secure  protection  and  the  benefit 
of  a mild  legislation  to  the  unfortunate  natives.  But  the  iron  Conquerors 


chap,  v.]  ONDEGARDO . 145 

and  the  colonist  whose  heart  softened  only  to  the  touch  of  gold,  presented 
a formidable  barrier  to  improvement. 

Ondegardo’s  writings  are  honorably  distinguished  by  freedom  from  that 
superstition  which  is  the  debasing  characteristic  of  the  times — a supersti- 
tion shown  in  the  easy  credit  given  to  the  marvellous,  and  this  equally 
whether  in  heathen  or  in  Christian  story ; for  in  the  former  the  eye  of 
credulity  could  discern  as  readily  the  direct  interposition  of  Satan,  as  in 
the  latter  the  hand  of  the  Almighty.  It  is  this  ready  belief  in  a spiritual 
agency,  whether  for  good  or  for  evil,  which  forms  one  of  the  most  promi- 
nent features  in  the  writings  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Nothing  could 
be  more  repugnant  to  the  true  spirit  of  philosophical  inquiry,  or  more 
irreconcilable  with  rational  criticism.  Far  from  betraying  such  weak- 
ness, Ondegardo  writes  in  a direct  and  business-like  manner,  estimating 
things  for  what  they  are  worth  by  the  plain  rule  of  common  sense. 
He  keeps  the  main  object  of  his  argument  ever  in  view,  without  allow- 
ing himself,  like  the  garrulous  chroniclers  of  the  period,  to  be  led  astray 
into  a thousand  rambling  episodes  that  bewilder  the  reader  and  lead  to 
nothing. 

Ondegardo’s  memoirs  deal  not  only  with  the  antiquities  of  the  nation, 
but  with  its  actual  condition,  and  with  the  best  means  for  redressing  the 
manifold  evils  to  which  it  was  subjected  under  the  stern  rule  of  its  con- 
querors. His  suggestions  are  replete  with  wisdom,  and  a merciful  policy, 
that  would  reconcile  the  interests  of  government  with  the  prosperity  and 
happiness  of  its  humblest  vassal.  Thus,  while  his  contemporaries  gath- 
ered light  from  his  suggestions  as  to  the  present  condition  of  affairs,  the 
historian  of  later  times  is  no  less  indebted  to  him  for  information  in  re- 
spect to  the  past.  His  manuscript  was  freely  consulted  by  Herrera,  and 
the  reader,  as  he  peruses  the  pages  of  the  learned  historian  of  the  Indies, 
is  unconsciously  enjoying  the  benefit  of  the  researches  of  Ondegardo.  His 
valuable  Relaciones  thus  had  their  uses  for  future  generations,  though  they 
have  never  been  admitted  to  the  honors  of  the  press.  The  copy  in  my 
possession,  like  that  of  Sarmiento’s  manuscript,  for  which  I am  indebted 
to  that  industrious  bibliographer,  Mr.  Rich,  formed  part  of  the  magnificent 
collection  of  Lord  Kingsborough — a name  ever  to  be  held  in  honor  by 
the  scholar  for  his  indefatigable  efforts  to  illustrate  the  antiquities  of 
America. 

Ondegardo’s  manuscripts,  it  should  be  remarked,  do  not  bear  his  signa- 
ture. But  they  contain  allusions  to  several  actions  of  the  writer’s  life, 
which  identify  them,  beyond  any  reasonable  doubt,  as  his  production.  In 
the  archives  of  Simancas  is  a duplicate  copy  of  the  first  memorial,  Relacion 
Primer  a,  though,  like  the  one  in  the  Escorial,  without  its  author’s  name. 
Munoz  assigns  it  to  the  pen  of  Gabriel  de  Rojas,  a distinguished  cavalier 
of  the  Conquest.  This  is  clearly  an  error  ; for  the  author  of  the  manuscript 
identifies  himself  with  Ondegardo,  by  declaring,  in  his  reply  to  the  fifth 
interrogatory,  that  he  was  the  person  who  discovered  the  mummies  of  the 


146 


CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  INCAS. 


[BOOK  f. 


Incas  in  Cuzco — an  act  expressly  referred,  both  by  Acosta  and  Garcilasso, 
to  the  Licentiate  Polo  de  Ondegardo,  when  corregidor  of  that  city. 
Should  the  savants  of  Madrid  hereafter  embrace  among  the  publications 
of  valuable  manuscripts  these  Relaciones , they  should  be  careful  not  to 
be  led  into  an  error  here  by  the  authority  of  a critic  like  Munoz,  whose 
criticism  is  rarely  at  fault. 


BOOK  II. 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Ancient  and  Modern  Science. — Art  of  Navigation. — Maritime  Discovery. 
— Spirit  of  the  Spaniards. — Possessions  in  the  New  World. — Rumors 
Concerning  Peru. 

Whatever  difference  of  opinion  may  exist  as  to  the  com- 
parative merit  of  the  ancients  and  the  moderns  in  the  arts,  in 
poetry,  eloquence,  and  all  that  depends  on  imagination,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  in  science  the  moderns  have  eminently 
the  advantage.  It  could  not  be  otherwise.  In  the  early  ages 
of  the  world,  as  in  the  early  period  of  life,  there  was  the  fresh- 
ness of  a morning  existence,  when  the  gloss  of  novelty  was  on 
everything  that  met  the  eye ; when  the  senses,  not  blunted  by 
familiarity,  were  more  keenly  alive  to  the  beautiful,  and  the 
mind,  under  the  influence  of  a healthy  and  natural  taste,  was 
not  perverted  by  philosophical  theory ; when  the  simple  was 
necessarily  connected  with  the  beautiful,  and  the  epicurean  in- 
tellect, sated  by  repetition,  had  not  begun  to  seek  for  stimulants 
in  the  fantastic  and  capricious.  The  realms  of  fancy  were  all 
untravelled,  and  its  fairest  flowers  had  not  been  gathered,  nor 
its  beauties  despoiled,  by  the  rude  touch  of  those  who  affected 
to  cultivate  them.  The  wing  of  genius  was  not  bound  to  the 
earth  by  the  cold  and  conventional  rules  of  criticism,  but  was 
permitted  to  take  its  flight  far  and  wide  over  the  broad  ex- 
panse of  creation. 

But  with  science  it  was  otherwise.  No  genius  could  suffice 

Peru  7 Yol.  1 


148 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  II. 


for  the  creation  of  facts — hardly  for  their  detection.  They 
were  to  be  gathered  in  by  painful  industry ; to  be  collected 
from  careful  observation  and  experiment.  Genius,  indeed, 
might  arrange  and  combine  these  facts  into  new  forms,  and 
elicit  from  their  combinations  new  and  important  inferences, 
and  in  this  process  might  almost  rival  in  originality  the  crea- 
tions of  the  poet  and  the  artist.  But  if  the  processes  of  science 
are  necessarily  slow,  they  are  sure.  There  is  no  retrograde 
movement  in  her  domain.  Arts  may  fade,  the  Muse  become 
dumb,  a moral  lethargy  may  lock  up  the  faculties  of  a nation, 
the  nation  itself  may  pass  away  and  leave  only  the  memory  of 
its  existence,  but  the  stores  of  science  it  has  garnered  up  will 
endure  forever.  As  other  nations  come  upon  the  stage,  and 
new  forms  of  civilization  arise,  the  monuments  of  art  and  of 
imagination,  productions  of  an  older  time,  will  lie  as  an  ob- 
stacle in  the  path  of  improvement.  They  cannot  be  built 
upon ; they  occupy  the  ground  which  the  new  aspirant  for  im- 
mortality would  cover.  The  whole  work  is  to  be  gone  over 
again,  and  other  forms  of  beauty — whether  higher  or  lower  in 
the  scale  of  merit,  unlike  the  past — must  arise  to  take  a place 
by  their  side.  But,  in  science,  every  stone  that  has  been  laid 
remains  as  the  foundation  for  another.  The  coming  genera- 
tion takes  up  the  work  where  the  preceding  left  it.  There  is 
no  retrograde  movement.  The  individual  nation  may  recede, 
but  science  still  advances.  Every  step  that  has  been  gained 
makes  the  ascent  easier  for  those  who  come  after.  Every  step 
carries  the  patient  inquirer  after  truth  higher  and  higher 
toward  heaven,  and  unfolds  to  him,  as  he  rises,  a wider  hori- 
zon, and  new  and  more  magnificent  views  of  the  universe. 

Geography  partook  of  the  embarrassments  which  belonged 
to  every  other  department  of  science  in  the  primitive  ages  of 
the  world.  The  knowledge  of  the  earth  could  come  only  from 
an  extended  commerce ; and  commerce  is  founded  on  artificial 
wants  or  an  enlightened  curiosity,  hardly  compatible  with  the 
earlier  condition  of  society.  In  the  infancy  of  nations,  the 
different  tribes,  occupied  with  their  domestic  feuds,  found  few 
occasions  to  wander  beyond  the  mountain  chain  or  broad 


CHAP.  I.]  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  SCIENCE . 


149 


stream  that  formed  the  natural  boundary  of  their  domains. 
The  Phoenicians,  it  is  true,  are  said  to  have  sailed  beyond  the 
Pillars  of  Hercules,  and  to  have  launched  out  on  the  great 
western  ocean.  But  the  adventures  of  these  ancient  voyagers 
belong  to  the  mythic  legends  of  antiquity,  and  ascend  far  be- 
yond the  domain  of  authentic  record. 

The  Greeks,  quick  and  adventurous,  skilled  in  mechanical 
art,  had  many  of  the  qualities  of  successful  navigators,  and 
within  the  limits  of  their  little  inland  sea  ranged  fearlessly  and 
freely.  But  the  conquests  of  Alexander  did  more  to  extend 
the  limits  of  geographical  science,  and  opened  an  acquaint- 
ance with  the  remote  countries  of  the  East.  Yet  the  march  of 
the  conqueror  is  slow  in  comparison  with  the  movements  of 
the  unencumbered  traveller.  The  Romans  were  still  less  en- 
terprising than  the  Greeks,  were  less  commercial  in  their 
character.  The  contributions  to  geographical  knowledge 
grew  with  the  slow  acquisitions  of  empire.  But  their  system 
was  centralizing  in  its  tendency;  and,  instead  of  taking  an 
outward  direction  and  looking  abroad  for  discovery,  every 
part  of  the  vast  imperial  domain  turned  toward  the  capital  as 
its  head  and  central  point  of  attraction.  The  Roman  con- 
queror pursued  his  path  by  land,  not  by  sea.  But  the  water 
is  the  great  highway  between  nations,  the  true  element  for  the 
discoverer.  The  Romans  were  not  a maritime  people.  At 
the  close  of  their  empire,  geographical  science  could  hardly  be 
said  to  extend  farther  than  to  an  acquaintance  with  Europe — 
and  this  not  its  more  northern  division — together  with  a por- 
tion of  Asia  and  Africa ; while  they  had  no  other  conception 
of  a world  beyond  the  Western  waters  than  was  to  be  gathered 
from  the  fortunate  prediction  of  the  poet.1 

i Seneca’s  well-known  prediction,  in  his  Medea,  is  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  random 
prophecy  on  record.  For  it  is  not  a simple  extension  of  the  boundaries  of  the  knows  parts 
of  the  globe  that  is  so  confidently  announced,  but  the  existence  of  a New  IVorld  across  the 
waters,  to  be  revealed  in  coming  ages  : 

“ Quibus  Oceanus 
Vincula  rerum  laxet,  et  ingens 
Pateat  tellus,  Typhisque  Novos 
Detegat  Orbes.” 

It  was  the  lucky  hit  of  the  philosopher  rather  than  the  poet 


i$o 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU, 


tBOOK  II. 


Then  followed  the  Middle  Ages ; the  dark  ages,  as  they  are 
called,  though  in  their  darkness  were  matured  those  seeds  of 
knowledge  which,  in  fulness  of  time,  were  to  spring  up  into 
new  and  more  glorious  forms  of  civilization.  The  organiza- 
tion of  society  became  more  favorable  to  geographical  sci- 
ence. Instead  of  one  overgrown,  lethargic  empire,  oppressing 
everything  by  its  colossal  weight,  Europe  was  broken  up  in- 
to various  independent  communities,  many  of  which,  adopting 
liberal  forms  of  government,  felt  all  the  impulses  natural  to 
freemen ; and  the  petty  republics  on  the  Mediterranean  and 
the  Baltic  sent  forth  their  swarms  of  seamen  in  a profitable 
commerce,  that  knit  together  the  different  countries  scattered 
along  the  great  European  waters. 

But  the  improvements  which  took  place  in  the  art  of  navi- 
gation, the  more  accurate  measurement  of  time,  and,  above 
all,  the  discovery  of  the  polarity  of  the  magnet,  greatly  ad- 
vanced the  cause  of  geographical  knowledge.  Instead  of 
creeping  timidly  along  the  coast,  or  limiting  his  expeditions  to 
the  narrow  basins  of  inland  waters,  the  voyager  might  now 
spread  his  sails  boldly  on  the  deep,  secure  of  a guide  to  direct 
his  bark  unerringly  across  the  illimitable  waste.  The  con- 
sciousness of  this  power  led  thought  to  travel  in  a new  direc- 
tion ; and  the  mariner  began  to  look  with  earnestness  for 
another  path  to  the  Indian  Spice-islands  than  that  by  which 
the  Eastern  caravans  had  traversed  the  continent  of  Asia. 
The  nations  on  whom  the  spirit  of  enterprise  at  this  crisis 
naturally  descended  were  Spain  and  Portugal,  placed  as  they 
were  on  the  outposts  of  the  European  continent,  commanding 
the  great  theatre  of  future  discovery. 

Both  countries  felt  the  responsibility  of  their  new  position. 
The  crown  of  Portugal  was  constant  in  its  efforts,  through  the 
fifteenth  century,  to  find  a passage  round  the  southern  point 
of  Africa  into  the  Indian  Ocean ; though  so  timid  was  the 
navigation  that  every  fresh  headland  became  a formidable 
barrier,  and  it  was  not  till  the  latter  part  of  the  century  that 
the  adventurous  Diaz  passed  quite  round  the  Stormy  Cape,  as 
he  termed  it,  but  which  John  the  Second,  with  happier  au- 


chap,  i.]  ART  OF  NAVIGATION.  151 

gury,  called  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  But,  before  Vasco  de 
Gama  had  availed  himself  of  this  discovery  to  spread  his  sails 
in  the  Indian  seas,  Spain  entered  on  her  glorious  .career  and 
sent  Columbus  across  the  Western  waters. 

The  object  of  the  great  navigator  was  still  the  discovery  of  a 
route  to  India,  but  by  the  west  instead  of  the  east.  He  had 
no  expectation  of  meeting  with  a continent  in  his  way,  and, 
after  repeated  voyages,  he  remained  in  his  original  error, 
dying,  as  is  well  known,  in  the  conviction  that  it  was  the 
eastern  shore  of  Asia  which  he  had  reached.  It  was  the  same 
object  which  directed  the  nautical  enterprises  of  those  who 
followed  in  the  Admiral’s  track ; and  the  discovery  of  a strait 
into  the  Indian  Ocean  was  the  burden  of  every  order  from  the 
government,  and  the  design  of  many  an  expedition  to  different 
points  of  the  new  continent,  which  seemed  to  stretch  its  levia- 
than length  along  from  one  pole  to  the  other.  The  discovery 
of  an  Indian  passage  is  the  true  key  to  the  maritime  move- 
ments of  the  fifteenth  and  the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury. It  was  the  great  leading  idea  that  gave  its  peculiar 
character  to  the  enterprise  of  the  age. 

It  is  not  easy  at  this  time  to  comprehend  the  impulse  given 
to  Europe  by  the  discovery  of  America.  It  was  not  the  grad- 
ual acquisition  of  some  border  territory,  a province  or  a king- 
dom that  had  been  gained,  but  a new  world  that  was  now 
thrown  open  to  the  European.  The  races  of  animals,  the 
mineral  treasures,  the  vegetable  forms,  and  the  varied  aspects 
of  nature,  man  in  the  different  phases  of  civilization,  filled  the 
mind  with  entirely  new  sets  of  ideas,  that  changed  the  habitual 
current  of  thought  and  stimulated  it  to  indefinite  conjecture. 
The  eagerness  to  explore  the  wonderful  secrets  of  the  new 
hemisphere  became  so  active  that  the  principal  cities  of  Spain 
were,  in  a manner,  depopulated,  as  emigrants  thronged  one 
after  another  to  take  their  chance  upon  the  deep.2  It  was  a 

8 The  Venetian  ambassador,  Andrea  Navagiero,  who  travelled  through  Spain  in  1525, 
near  the  period  of  the  commencement  of  our  narrative,  notices  the  general  fever  of  emigra- 
tion. Seville,  in  particular,  the  great  port  of  embarkation,  was  so  stripped  of  its  inhabi- 
tants, he  says,  “ that  the  city  was  left  almost  to  the  women.”  Viaggio  fatto  in  Spagna 


152 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


fBOOK  ii 


world  of  romance  that  was  thrown  open  ; for,  whatever  might 
be  the  luck  of  the  adventurer,  his  reports  on  his  return  were 
tinged  with  a coloring  of  romance  that  stimulated  still  higher 
the  sensitive  fancies  of  his  countrymen  and  nourished  the 
chimerical  sentiments  of  an  age  of  chivalry.  They  listened 
with  attentive  ears  to  tales  of  Amazons  which  seemed  to 
realize  the  classic  legends  of  antiquity,  to  stories  of  Patagonian 
giants,  to  flaming  pictures  of  an  El  Dorado  where  the  sands 
sparkled  with  gems  and  golden  pebbles  as  large  as  birds’  eggs 
were  dragged  in  nets  out  of  the  rivers. 

Yet  that  the  adventurers  were  no  impostors,  but  dupes,  too 
easy  dupes,  of  their  own  credulous  fancies,  is  shown  by  the 
extravagant  character  of  their  enterprises ; by  expeditions  in 
search  of  the  magical  Fountain  of  Health,  of  the  Golden  Tem- 
ple of  Doboyba,  of  the  golden  sepulchres  of  Zenu ; for  gold 
was  ever  floating  before  their  distempered  vision,  and  the 
name  of  Castilla  del  Oro , Golden  Castile,  the  most  unhealthy 
and  unprofitable  region  of  the  Isthmus,  held  out  a bright 
promise  to  the  unfortunate  settler,  who  too  frequently,  instead 
of  gold,  found  there  only  his  grave. 

In  this  realm  of  enchantment,  all  the  accessories  served  to 
maintain  the  illusion.  The  simple  natives,  with  their  de- 
fenceless bodies  and  rude  weapons,  were  no  match  for  the 
European  warrior  armed  to  the  teeth  in  mail.  The  odds  were 
as  great  as  those  found  in  any  legend  of  chivalry,  where  the 
lance  of  the  good  knight  overturned  hundreds  at  a touch. 
The  perils  that  lay  in  the  discoverer’s  path,  and  the  sufferings 
he  had  to  sustain,  were  scarcely  inferior  to  those  that  beset  the 
knight-errant.  Hunger  and  thirst  and  fatigue,  the  deadly 
effluvia  of  the  morass  with  its  swarms  of  venomous  insects,  the 
cold  of  mountain  snows,  and  the  scorching  sun  of  the  tropics, 
these  were  the  lot  of  every  cavalier  who  came  to  seek  his  fort- 
unes in  the  New  World.  It  was  the  reality  of  romance. 
The  life  of  the  Spanish  adventurer  was  one  chapter  more — and 
not  the  least  remarkable — in  the  chronicles  of  knight-errantry. 

The  character  of  the  warrior  took  on  somewhat  of  the  ex- 
aggerated coloring  shed  over  his  exploits.  Proud  and  vain- 


CHAP,  t.) 


SPIRIT  OF  THE  SPANIARDS. 


153 


glorious,  swelled  with  lofty  anticipations  of  his  destiny  and  an 
invincible  confidence  in  his  own  resources,  no  danger  could 
appal  and  no  toil  could  tire  him.  The  greater  the  danger, 
indeed,  the  higher  the  charm ; for  his  soul  revelled  in  excite- 
ment, and  the  enterprise  without  peril  wanted  that  spur  of  ro- 
mance which  was  necessary  to  rouse  his  energies  into  action. 
Yet  in  the  motives  of  action  meaner  influences  were  strangely 
mingled  with  the  loftier,  the  temporal  with  the  spiritual. 
Gold  was  the  incentive  and  the  recompense,  and  in  the  pur- 
suit of  it  his  inflexible  nature  rarely  hesitated  as  to  the  means. 
His  courage  was  sullied  with  cruelty,  the  cruelty  that  flowed 
equally — strange  as  it  may  seem — from  his  avarice  and  his  re- 
ligion ; religion  as  it  was  understood  in  that  age — the  religion 
of  the  Crusader.  It  was  the  convenient  cloak  for  a multitude 
of  sins,  which  covered  them  even  from  himself.  The  Cas- 
tilian, too  proud  for  hypocrisy,  committed  more  cruelties  in 
the  name  of  religion  than  were  ever  practised  by  the  pagan 
idolater  or  the  fanatical  Moslem.  The  burning  of  the  infidel 
was  a sacrifice  acceptable  to  Heaven,  and  the  conversion  of 
those  who  survived  amply  atoned  for  the  foulest  offences.  It 
is  a melancholy  and  mortifying  consideration  that  the  most 
uncompromising  spirit  of  intolerance — the  spirit  of  the  In- 
quisitor at  home,  and  of  the  Crusader  abroad — should  have 
emanated  from  a religion  which  preached  peace  upon  earth 
and  good  will  toward  man  1 

What  a contrast  did  these  children  of  Southern  Europe  pre- 
sent to  the  Anglo-Saxon  races  who  scattered  themselves  along 
the  great  northern  division  of  the  Western  hemisphere  ! For 
the  principle  of  action  with  these  latter  was  not  avarice,  nor  the 
more  specious  pretext  of  proselytism  ; but  independence — in- 
dependence religious  and  political.  To  secure  this,  they  were 
content  to  earn  a bare  subsistence  by  a life  of  frugality  and 
toil.  They  asked  nothing  from  the  soil  but  the  reasonable  re- 
turns of  their  own  labor.  No  golden  visions  threw  a deceitful 
halo  around  their  path  and  beckoned  them  onward  through 
seas  of  blood  to  the  subversion  of  an  unoffending  dynasty. 
They  were  content  with  the  slow  but  steady  progress  of  their 


154  DISCOVERY  OF  PERU.  [BOOK  II. 

social  polity.  They  patiently  endured  the  privations  of  the 
wilderness,  watering  the  tree  of  liberty  with  their  tears  and 
with  the  sweat  of  their  brow,  till  it  took  deep  root  in  the  land 
and  sent  up  its  branches  high  toward  the  heavens ; while  the 
communities  of  the  neighboring  continent,  shooting  up  into 
the  sudden  splendors  of  a tropical  vegetation,  exhibited,  even 
in  their  prime,  the  sure  symptoms  of  decay. 

It  would  seem  to  have  been  especially  ordered  by  Provi- 
dence that  the  discovery  of  the  two  great  divisions  of  the 
American  hemisphere  should  fall  to  the  two  races  best  fitted  to 
conquer  and  colonize  them.  Thus,  the  northern  section  was 
consigned  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  whose  orderly,  industrious 
habits  found  an  ample  field  for  development  under  its  colder 
skies  and  on  its  more  rugged  soil ; while  the  southern  portion, 
with  its  rich  tropical  products  and  treasures  of  mineral  wealth, 
held  out  the  most  attractive  bait  to  invite  the  enterprise  of  the 
Spaniard.  How  different  might  have  been  the  result  if  the 
bark  of  Columbus  had  taken  a more  northerly  direction,  as  he 
at  one  time  meditated,  and  landed  its  band  of  adventurers  on 
the  shores  of  what  is  now  Protestant  America  ! 

Under  the  pressure  of  that  spirit  of  nautical  enterprise  which 
filled  the  maritime  communities  of  Europe  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  the  whole  extent  of  the  mighty  continent,  from  Lab- 
rador to  Terra  del  Fuego,  was  explored  in  less  than  thirty 
years  after  its  discovery  ; and  in  1521  the  Portuguese  Maghel- 
lan,  sailing  under  the  Spanish  flag,  solved  the  problem  of  the 
strait,  and  found  a westerly  way  to  the  long-sought  Spice- 
islands  of  India — greatly  to  the  astonishment  of  the  Portu- 
guese, who,  sailing  from  the  opposite  direction,  there  met 
their  rivals,  face  to  face,  at  the  antipodes.  But  while  the 
whole  eastern  coast  of  the  American  continent  had  been  ex- 
plored, and  the  central  portion  of  it  colonized — even  after  the 
brilliant  achievement  of  the  Mexican  conquest — the  veil  was 
not  yet  raised  that  hung  over  the  golden  shores  of  the  Pacific. 

Floating  rumors  had  reached  the  Spaniards,  from  time  to 
time,  of  countries  in  the  far  west,  teeming  with  the  metal  they 
so  much  coveted : but  the  first  distinct  notice  of  Peru  was 


chap,  i.)  RUMORS  CONCERNING  PERU.  1 55 

about  the  year  15 11,  when  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  the  dis- 
coverer of  the  Southern  Sea,  was  weighing  some  gold  which  he 
had  collected  from  the  natives.  A young  barbarian  chieftain, 
who  was  present,  struck  the  scales  with  his  fist,  and,  scattering 
the  glittering  metal  around  the  apartment,  exclaimed,  “ If  this 
is  what  you  prize  so  much  that  you  are  willing  to  leave  your 
distant  homes  and  risk  even  life  itself  for  it,  I can  tell  you  of  a 
land  where  they  eat  and  drink  out  of  golden  vessels,  and  gold 
is  as  cheap  as  iron  is  with  you.  ’ ’ It  was  not  long  after  this 
startling  intelligence  that  Balboa  achieved  the  formidable  ad- 
venture of  scaling  the  mountain-rampart  of  the  isthmus  which 
divides  the  two  mighty  oceans  from  each  other ; when,  armed 
with  sword  and  buckler,  he  rushed  into  the  waters  of  the  Pa- 
cific, and  cried  out,  in  the  true  chivalrous  vein,  that  “he 
claimed  this  unknown  sea,  with  all  that  it  contained,  for  the 
King  of  Castile,  and  that  he  would  make  good  the  claim 
against  all,  Christian  or  infidel,  who  dared  to  gainsay  it!  ” 3 
All  the  broad  continent  and  sunny  isles  washed  by  the  waters 
of  the  Southern  Ocean  ! Little  did  the  bold  cavalier  compre- 
hend the  full  import  of  his  magnificent  vaunt. 

On  this  spot  he  received  more  explicit  tidings  of  the  Peru- 
vian empire,  heard  proofs  recounted  of  its  civilization,  and 
was  shown  drawings  of  the  llama,  which,  to  the  European  eye, 
seemed  a species  of  the  Arabian  camel.  But,  although  he 
steered  his  caravel  for  these  golden  realms,  and  even  pushed 
his  discoveries  some  twenty  leagues  south  of  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Michael,  the  adventure  was  not  reserved  for  him.  The  illus- 
trious discoverer  was  doomed  to  fall  a victim  to  that  miserable 
jealousy  with  which  a little  spirit  regards  the  achievements  of 
a great  one. 

The  Spanish  colonial  domain  was  broken  up  into  a number 
of  petty  governments,  which  were  dispensed  sometimes  to 
court  favorites,  though,  as  the  duties  of  the  post,  at  this  early 
period,  were  of  an  arduous  nature,  they  were  more  frequently 
reserved  for  men  of  some  practical  talent  and  enterprise. 


3 Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  i,  lib  io,  cap.  2. — Quintana,  Vidas  de  Espanoles  celebrS 
(Madrid,  1830),  tom.  ii.  p.  44. 


156  DISCOVERY  OF  PERU.  [book  ii. 

Columbus,  by  virtue  of  his  original  contract  with  the  crown, 
had  jurisdiction  over  the  territories  discovered  by  himself, 
embracing  some  of  the  principal  islands,  and  a few  places  on 
the  continent.  This  jurisdiction  differed  from  that  of  other 
functionaries,  inasmuch  as  it  was  hereditary ; a privilege  found 
in  the  end  too  considerable  for  a subject,  and  commuted, 
therefore,  for  a title  and  a pension.  These  colonial  govern- 
ments were  multiplied  with  the  increase  of  empire,  and  by  the 
year  1524,  the  period  at  which  our  narrative  properly  com- 
mences, were  scattered  over  the  islands,  along  the  Isthmus  of 
Darien,  the  broad  tract  of  Terra  Firma,  and  the  recent  con- 
quests in  Mexico.  Some  of  these  governments  were  of  no 
great  extent ; others,  like  that  of  Mexico,  were  of  the  dimen- 
sions of  a kingdom  ; and  most  had  an  indefinite  range  for  dis- 
covery assigned  to  them  in  their  immediate  neighborhood,  by 
which  each  of  the  petty  potentates  might  enlarge  his  territorial 
sway  and  enrich  his  followers  and  himself.  This  politic  ar- 
rangement best  served  the  ends  of  the  crown,  by  affording  a 
perpetual  incentive  to  the  spirit  of  enterprise.  Thus  living  on 
their  own  little  domains  at  a long  distance  from  the  mother 
country,  these  military  rulers  held  a sort  of  vice-regal  sway, 
and  too  frequently  exercised  it  in  the  most  oppressive  and 
tyrannical  manner — oppressive  to  the  native,  and  tyrannical 
toward  their  own  followers.  It  was  the  natural  consequence, 
when  men  originally  low  in  station,  and  unprepared  by  educa- 
tion for  office,  were  suddenly  called  to  the  possession  of  a brief, 
but  in  its  nature  irresponsible,  authority.  It  was  not  till  after 
some  sad  experience  of  these  results  that  measures  were  taken 
to  hold  these  petty  tyrants  in  check  by  means  of  regular  tribu- 
nals, or  Royal  Audiences,  as  they  were  termed,  which,  com- 
posed of  men  of  character  and  learning,  might  interpose  the 
arm  of  the  law,  or  at  least  the  voice  of  remonstrance,  for  the 
protection  of  both  colonist  and  native. 

Among  the  colonial  governors  who  were  indebted  for  their 
situation  to  their  rank  at  home  was  Don  Pedro  Arias  de  Avila, 
or  Pedrarias,  as  usually  called.  He  was  married  to  a daughter 
of  Dona  Beatriz  de  Bobadilla,  the  celebrated  Marchioness  of 


CHAP.  I.] 


RUMORS  CONCERNING  PERU. 


157 


Moya,  best  known  as  the  friend  of  Isabella  the  Catholic.  He 
was  a man  of  some  military  experience  and  considerable  energy 
of  character.  But,  as  it  proved,  he  was  of  a malignant  temper ; 
and  the  base  qualities  which  might  have  passed  unnoticed  in  the 
obscurity  of  private  life  were  made  conspicuous,  and  perhaps 
created  in  some  measure,  by  sudden  elevation  to  power  ; as  the 
sunshine,  which  operates  kindly  on  a generous  soil  and  stimulates 
it  to  production,  calls  forth  from  the  unwhojesome  marsh  only 
foul  and  pestilent  vapors.  This  man  was  placed  over  the  terri- 
tory of  Castilla  del  Oro,  the  ground  selected  by  Nunez  de  Bal- 
boa for  the  theatre  of  his  discoveries.  Success  drew  on  this  latter 
the  jealousy  of  his  superior,  for  it  was  crime  enough  in  the  eyes 
of  Pedrarias  to  deserve  too  well.  The  tragical'  history  of  this 
cavalier  belongs  to  a period  somewhat  earlier  than  that  with 
which  we  are  to  be  occupied.  It  has  been  traced  by  abler 
hands  than  mine,  and,  though  brief,  forms  one  of  the  most  bril- 
liant passages  in  the  annals  of  the  American  conquerors.4 

But,  though  Pedrarias  was  willing  to  cut  short  the  glorious 
career  of  his  rival,  he  was  not  insensible  to  the  important  con- 
sequences of  his  discoveries.  He  saw  at  once  the  unsuitable- 
ness of  Darien  for  prosecuting  expeditions  on  the  Pacific,  and, 
conformably  to  the  original  suggestion  of  Balboa,  in  1519  he 
caused  his  rising  capital  to  be  transferred  from  the  shores  of 
the  Atlantic  to  the  ancient  site  of  Panama,  some  distance  east 
of  the  present  city  of  that  name.6  This  most  unhealthy  spot, 
the  cemetery  of  many  an  unfortunate  colonist,  was  favorably 
situated  for  the  great  object  of  maritime  enterprise ; and  the 

4 The  memorable  adventures  of  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa  have  been  recorded  by  Quintana 
(Espanoles  celebres,  tom.  ii.),  and  by  Irving  in  his  Companions  of  Columbus.  It  is  rare 
that  the  life  of  an  individual  has  formed  the  subject  of  two  such  elegant  memorials,  pro- 
duced at  nearly  the  same  time,  and  in  different  languages,  without  any  communication  be- 
tween the  authors. 

5 The  court  gave  positive  instructions  to  Pedrarias  to  make  a settlement  in  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Michael,  in  obedience  to  the  suggestion  of  Vasco  Nunez,  that  it  would  be  the  most  eligible 
site  for  discovery  and  traffic  in  the  South  Sea  : “El  asiento  que  se  ovicre  de  hacer  en  el 
golfo  de  S.  Miguel  en  la  mar  del  sur  debe  ser  en  el  puerto  que  mejor  se  hallare  y mas  con- 
venible  para  la  contratacion  de  aquel  golfo,  porque  segund  lo  que  Vasco  Nunez  escribe, 
seria  muy  necesario  que  allf  haya  algunos  navfos,  asf  para  descubrir  las  cosas  del  golfo  ; y 
de  la  comarca  del,  como  para  la  contratacion  de  rescates  de  las  otras  cosas  necesarias  al 
buen  proveimiento  de  aquello  ; e para  que  estos  navfos  aprovechen  es  menester  que  se  hagan 
alld.”  Capftulo  de  Carta  escrita  por  el  Rey  Catolico  & Pedrarias  Ddvila,  ap,  Navarrete, 
Coleccion  de  los  Viages  y Descubrimientos  (Madrid,  1829),  tom.  iii.  No.  3. 


158 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  n. 


port,  from  its  central  position,  afforded  the  best  point  of  de- 
parture for  expeditions,  whether  to  the  north  or  south,  along 
the  wide  range  of  undiscovered  coast  that  lined  the  Southern 
Ocean.  Yet  in  this  new  and  more  favorable  position  several 
years  were  suffered  to  elapse  before  the  course  of  discovery  took 
the  direction  of  Peru.  This  was  turned  exclusively  toward  the 
north,  or  rather  west,  in  obedience  to  the  orders  of  the  govern- 
ment, which  had  ever  at  heart  the  detection  of  a strait  that,  as 
was  supposed,  must  intersect  some  part  or  other  of  the  long- 
extended  Isthmus.  Armament  after  armament  was  fitted  out 
with  this  chimerical  object ; and  Pedrarias  saw  his  domain  ex- 
tending every  year  farther  and  farther  without  deriving  any 
considerable  advantage  from  his  acquisitions.  Veragua,  Costa 
Rica,  Nicaragua,  were  successively  occupied ; and  his  brave 
cavaliers  forced  a way  across  forest  and  mountain  and  warlike 
tribes  of  savages,  till,  at  Honduras,  they  came  in  collision  with 
the  companions  of  Cortes,  the  Conquerors  of  Mexico,  who  had 
descended  from  the  great  northern  plateau  on  the  regions  of 
Central  America,  and  thus  completed  the  survey  of  this  wild 
and  mysterious  land. 

It  was  not  till  1522  that  a regular  expedition  was  despatched 
in  the  direction  south  of  Panama,  under  the  conduct  of  Pascual 
de  Andagoya,  a cavalier  of  much  distinction  in  the  colony. 
But  that  officer  penetrated  only  to  the  Puerto  de  Pinas,  the 
limit  of  Balboa’s  discoveries,  when  the  bad  state  of  his  health 
compelled  him  to  re-embark  and  abandon  his  enterprise  at  its 
commencement. 6 

Yet  the  floating  rumors  of  the  wealth  and  civilization  of  a 
mighty  nation  at  the  south  were  continually  reaching  the  ears 
and  kindling  the  dreamy  imaginations  of  the  colonists  ; and  it 

6 According  to  Montesinos,  Andagoya  received  a severe  injury  by  a fail  from  his  horse, 
while  showing  off  the  high-mettled  animal  to  the  wondering  eyes  of  the  natives.  (Annales 
del  Peru,  MS.,  ano  1524.)  But  the  Adelantado,  in  a memorial  of  his  own  discoveries, 
drawn  up  hy  himself,  says  nothing  of  this  unlucky  feat  of  horsemanship,  but  imputes  his 
illness  to  his  having  fallen  into  the  water,  an  accident  by  which  he  was  near  being  drowned, 
so  that  it  was  some  years  before  he  recovered  from  the  effects  of  it, — a mode  of  accounting 
for  his  premature  return,  more  soothing  to  his  vanity,  probably,  than  the  one  usually  re- 
ceived. This  document,  important  as  coming  from  the  pen  of  one  of  the  primitive  dis- 
coverers, is  preserved  in  the  Indian  Archives  of  Seville,  and  was  published  by  Navarre 
Coleccion,  tom.  iii.  No.  7. 


CHAP.  II.] 


FRANCISCO  PIZARRO . 


159 


may  seem  astonishing  that  an  expedition  in  that  direction 
should  have  been  so  long  deferred.  But  the  exact  position  and 
distance  of  this  fairy  realm  were  matter  of  conjecture.  The 
long  tract  of  intervening  country  was  occupied  by  rude  and 
warlike  races ; and  the  little  experience  which  the  Spanish 
navigators  had  already  had  of  the  neighboring  coast  and  its 
inhabitants,  and,  still  more,  the  tempestuous  character  of  the 
seas— for  their  expeditions  had  taken  place  at  the  most  un- 
propitious  seasons  of  the  year — enhanced  the  apparent  diffi- 
culties of  the  undertaking  and  made  even  their  stout  hearts 
shrink  from  it. 

Such  was  the  state  of  feeling  in  the  little  community  of  Pan- 
ama for  several  years  after  its  foundation.  Meanwhile,  the  daz- 
zling conquest  of  Mexico  gave  a new  impulse  to  the  ardor  of 
discovery,  and  in  1524  three  men  were  found  in  the  colony  in 
whom  the  spirit  of  adventure  triumphed  over  every  consider- 
ation of  difficulty  and  danger  that  obstructed  the  prosecution  of 
the  enterprise.  One  among  them  was  selected  as  fitted  by  his 
character  to  conduct  it  to  a successful  issue.  That  man  was 
Francisco  Pizarro ; and,  as  he  held  the  same  conspicuous  post 
in  the  conquest  of  Peru  that  was  occupied  by  Cortes  in  that 
of  Mexico,  it  will  be  necessary  to  take  a brief  review  of  his 
early  history. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Francisco  Pizarro. — His  early  History. — First  Expedition  to  the  South. — 
Distresses  of  the  Voyagers. — Sharp  Encounters. — Return  to  Panama. 
— Almagro’s  Expedition. 

1524-1525. 

Francisco  Pizarro  was  born  at  Truxillo,  a city  of  Estre- 
madura,  in  Spain.  The  period  of  his  birth  is  uncertain; 
but  probably  it  was  not  far  from  147 1.1  He  was  an  illegiti- 


1 The  few  writers  who  venture  to  assign  the  date  of  Pizarro’ s birth  do  it  in  so  vague  and 
contradictory  a manner  as  to  inspire  us  with  but  little  confidence  in  their  accounts.  Herrera, 
it  is  true,  says  positively  that  he  was  sixty-three  years  old  at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1541. 


i6o 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  II. 


mate  child,  and  that  his  parents  should  not  have  taken  pains 
to  perpetuate  the  date  of  his  birth  is  not  surprising.  Few  care 
to  make  a particular  record  of  their  transgressions.  His  father, 
Gonzalo  Pizarro,  was  a colonel  of  infantry,  and  served  with 
some  distinction  in  the  Italian  campaigns  under  the  Great  Cap- 
tain, and  afterward  in  the  wars  of  Navarre.  His  mother, 
named  Francisca  Gonzales,  was  a person  of  humble  condition 
in  the  town  of  Truxillo.2 

But  little  is  told  of  Francisco’s  early  years,  and  that  little 
not  always  deserving  of  credit.  According  to  some,  he  was  de- 
serted by  both  his  parents,  and  left  as  a foundling  at  the  door 
of  one  of  the  principal  churches  of  the  city.  It  is  even  said 
that  he  would  have  perished,  had  he  not  been  nursed  by  a 
sow.3  This  is  a more  discreditable  fountain  of  supply  than 
that  assigned  to  the  infant  Romulus.  The  early  history  of 
men  who  have  made  their  names  famous  by  deeds  in  after-life, 
like  the  early  history  of  nations,  affords  a fruitful  field  for  in- 
vention. 

It  seems  certain  that  the  young  Pizarro  received  little  care 
from  either  of  his  parents,  and  was  suffered  to  grow  up  as  nat- 
ure dictated.  He  was  neither  taught  to  read  nor  write,  and 
his  principal  occupation  was  that  of  a swineherd.  But  this 
torpid  way  of  life  did  not  suit  the  stirring  spirit  of  Pizarro,  as 
he  grew  older,  and  listened  to  the  tales,  widely  circulated  and 
so  captivating  to  a youthful  fancy,  of  the  New  World.  He 
shared  in  the  popular  enthusiasm,  and  availed  himself  of  a fa- 

(Hist.  general,  dec.  6,  lib.  io,  cap.  6.)  This  would  carry  back  the  date  of  his  birth  only  to 
1478.  But  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega  affirms  that  he  was  more  than  fifty  years  old  in  1525. 
(Com.  Real.,  Parte  2,  lib.  i.  cap.  1.)  This  would  place  his  birth  before  1475.  Pizarro  y 
Orellana,  who,  as  a kinsman  of  the  Conqueror,  may  be  supposed  to  have  had  better  means 
of  information,  says  he  was  fifty-four  years  of  age  at  the  same  date  of  1525.  (Varones 
ilustres  del  Nuevo-Mundo  (Madrid,  1639),  p.  128.)  But  at  the  period  of  his  death  he  calls 
him  nearly  eighty  years  old  ! (p.  185).  Taking  this  latter  as  a round  exaggeration  for  effect 
in  the  particular  connection  in  which  it  is  used,  and  admitting  the  accuracy  of  the  former 
statement,  the  epoch  of  his  birth  will  conform  to  that  given  in  the  text.  This  makes  him 
somewhat  late  in  life  to  set  about  the  conquest  of  an  empire.  But  Columbus,  when  he  en- 
tered on  his  career,  was  still  older. 

a Xerez,  Conquista  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.  p.  179. — Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  lib.  1, 
cap.  1. — Pizarro  y Orellana,  Varones  ilustres,  p.  128. 

3 “ Nacio  en  Truxillo,  i echaronlo  a la  puerta  de  la  Iglesia,  mam6  una  Puerca  ciertos 
Dias,  no  se  hallando  quien  le  quisiese  dir  leche.”  Gomara,  Hist  de  las  Ind.,  cap. 


chap.  ii.J  FRANCISCO  PIZARRO.  l6l 

vorable  moment  to  abandon  his  ignoble  charge  and  escape  to 
Seville,  the  port  where  the  Spanish  adventurers  embarked  to 
seek  their  fortunes  in  the  West.  Few  of  them  could  have 
turned  their  backs  on  their  native  land  with  less  cause  for  re- 
gret than  Pizarro.4 * 

In  what  year  this  important  change  in  his  destiny  took  place 
we  are  not  informed.  The  first  we  hear  of  him  in  the  New 
World  is  at  the  island  of  Hispaniola,  in  1510,  where  he  took 
part  in  the  expedition  to  Uraba  in  Terra  Firma,  under  Alonzo 
de  Ojeda,  a cavalier  whose  character  and  achievements  find  no 
parallel  but  in  the  pages  of  Cervantes.  Hernando  Cortes, 
whose  mother  was  a Pizarro,  and  related,  it  is  said,  to  the 
father  of  Francis,  was  then  in  St.  Domingo,  and  prepared  to 
accompany  Ojeda’s  expedition,  but  was  prevented  by  a tempo- 
rary lameness.  Had  he  gone,  the  fall  of  the  Aztec  empire 
might  have  been  postponed  for  some  time  longer,  and  the  scep- 
tre of  Montezuma  have  descended  in  peace  to  his  posterity. 
Pizarro  shared  in  the  disastrous  fortunes  of  Ojeda’s  colony, 
and  by  his  discretion  obtained  so  far  the  confidence  of  his 
commander  as  to  be  left  in  charge  of  the  settlement  when  the 
latter  returned  for  supplies  to  the  islands.  The  lieutenant  con- 
tinued at  his  perilous  post  for  nearly  two  months,  waiting  de- 
liberately until  death  should  have  thinned  off  the  colony  suffi- 
ciently to  allow  the  miserable  remnant  to  be  embarked  in  the 
single  small  vessel  that  remained  to  it.6 

After  this,  we  find  him  associated  with  Balboa,  the  discov- 
erer of  the  Pacific,  and  co-operating  with  him  in  establishing 
the  settlement  at  Darien.  He  had  the  glory  of  accompanying 
this  gallant  cavalier  in  his  terrible  march  across  the  mountains, 
and  of  being  among  the  first  Europeans,  therefore,  whose  eyes 
were  greeted  with  the  long-promised  vision  of  the  Southern 
Ocean. 


4 According  to  the  Comendador  Pizarro  y Orellana,  Francis  Pizarro  served,  while  quite  a 
stripling,  with  his  father,  in  the  Italian  wars,  and  afterward,  under  Columbus  and  other 
illustrious  discoverers,  in  the  New  World,  whose  successes  the  author  modestly  attributes 

to  his  kinsman’s  valor  as  a principal  cause  ! Varones  ilustres,  p.  187. 

6 Pizarro  y Orellana,  Varones  ilustres,  pp.  121-128. — Herrera,  Hist,  gen.,  dec.  1,  lib.  7, 
cap.  14. — Montesinos,  Annales,  MS.,  afio  1510. 


162 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU \ 


[BOOK  IX, 


After  the  untimely  death  of  his  commander,  Pizarro  at- 
tached himself  to  the  fortunes  of  Pedrarias,  and  was  employed 
by  that  governor  in  several  military  expeditions,  which,  if 
they  afforded  nothing  else,  gave  him  the  requisite  training  for 
the  perils  and  privations  that  lay  in  the  path  of  the  future  Con- 
queror of  Peru. 

In  1515  he  was  selected,  with  another  cavalier  named  Mo- 
rales, to  cross  the  Isthmus  and  traffic  with  the  natives  on  the 
shores  of  the  Pacific.  And  there,  while  engaged  in  collecting 
his  booty  of  gold  and  pearls  from  the  neighboring  islands,  as 
his  eye  ranged  along  the  shadowy  line  of  coast  till  it  faded  in 
the  distance,  his  imagination  may  have  been  first  fired  with 
the.  idea  of,  one  day,  attempting  the  conquest  of  the  myste- 
rious regions  beyond  the  mountains.  On  the  removal  of  the 
seat  of  government  across  the  Isthmus  to  Panama,  Pizarro 
accompanied  Pedrarias,  and  his  name  became  conspicuous 
among  the  cavaliers  who  extended  the  line  of  conquest  to  the 
north  over  the  martial  tribes  of  Veragua.  But  all  these  expe- 
ditions, whatever  glory  they  may  have  brought  him,  were  pro- 
ductive of  very  little  gold,  and  at  the  age  of  fifty  the  captain 
Pizarro  found  himself  in  possession  only  of  a tract  of  unhealthy 
land  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  capital,  and  of  such  reparti - 
mientos  of  the  natives  as  were  deemed  suited  to  his  military 
services.6  The  New  World  was  a lottery,  where  the  great 
prizes  were  so  few  that  the  odds  were  much  against  the  player ; 
yet  in  the  game  he  was  content  to  stake  health,  fortune,  and, 
too  often,  his  fair  fame. 

Such  was  Pizarro’s  situation  when,  in  1522,  Andagoya  re- 
turned from  his  unfinished  enterprise  to  the  south  of  Panama, 
bringing  back  with  him  more  copious  accounts  than  any  hitherto 
received  of  the  opulence  and  grandeur  of  the  countries  that  lay 
beyond. T It  was  at  this  time,  too,  that  the  splendid  achieve- 

8 “Teniendo  su  casa,  i Hacienda,  i Repartimiento  de  Indios  comouno  de  los  Principales 
de  la  Tierra ; porque  siempre  lo  fue.”  Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.  p. 
79- 

7 Andagoya  says  that  he  obtained,  while  at  Bird,  very  minute  accounts  of  the  empire  of 
the  Incas,  from  certain  itinerant  traders  who  frequented  that  country  : “ En  esta  provincia 
supe  y hube  relacion,  ansi  de  los  sefiores  como  de  mercaderes  6 interpretes  que  ellos 
tenian,  de  toda  la  costa  de  todo  lo  que  despues  se  ha  visto  hasta  el  Cuzco,  particularmente 


chap,  ii.]  FIRST  EXPEDITION  TO  THE  SOUTH.  1 63 


ments  of  Cortes  made  their  impression  on  the  public  mind  and 
gave  a new  impulse  to  the  spirit  of  adventure.  The  southern 
expeditions  became  a common  topic  of  speculation  among  the 
colonists  of  Panama.  But  the  region  of  gold,  as  it  lay  behind 
the  mighty  curtain  of  the  Cordilleras,  was  still  veiled  in  obscurity. 
No  idea  could  be  formed  of  its  actual  distance ; and  the  hard- 
ships and  difficulties  encountered  by  the  few  navigators  who 
had  sailed  in  that  direction  gave  a gloomy  character  to  the  un- 
dertaking, which  had  hitherto  deterred  the  most  daring  from 
embarking  in  it.  There  is  no  evidence  that  Pizarro  showed 
any  particular  alacrity  in  the  cause.  Nor  were  his  own  funds 
such  as  to  warrant  any  expectation  of  success  without  great  as- 
sistance from  others.  He  found  this  in  two  individuals  of  the 
colony,  who  took  too  important  a part  in  the  subsequent  trans- 
actions not  to  be  particularly  noticed. 

One  of  them,  Diego  de  Almagro,  was  a soldier  of  fortune, 
somewhat  older,  it  seems  probable,  than  Pizarro ; though  little 
is  known  of  his  birth,  and  even  the  place  of  it  is  disputed.  It 
is  supposed  to  have  been  the  town  of  Almagro,  in  New  Castile, 
whence  his  own  name,  for  want  of  a better  source,  was  derived  ; 
for,  like  Pizarro,  he  was  a foundling.8  Few  particulars  are 
known  of  him  till  the  present  period  of  our  history  ; for  he  was 
one  of  those  whom  the  working  of  turbulent  times  first  throws 
upon  the  surface — less  fortunate,  perhaps,  than  if  left  in  their 
original  obscurity.  In  his  military  career,  Almagro  had  earned 
the  reputation  of  a gallant  soldier.  He  was  frank  and  liberal  in 
his  disposition,  somewhat  hasty  and  ungovernable  in  his  passions, 
but,  like  men  of  a sanguine  temperament,  after  the  first  sallies 
had  passed  away,  not  difficult  to  be  appeased.  He  had,  in  short, 
the  good  qualities  and  the  defects  incident  to  an  honest  nature 
not  improved  by  the  discipline  of  early  education  or  self-control. 

de  cada  provincia  la  manera  y gente  della,  porque  estos  alcanzaban  por  via  de  mercaduria 
mucha  tierra.”  Navarrete,  Coleccion,  tom.  iii.  No.  7. 

8 “ Decia  el  que  hera  de  Almagro  R says  Pedro  Pizarro,  who  knew  him  well.  Relacion 
del  Descubrimiento  y Conquista  de  los  Reynos  del  Peru,  MS. — See  also  Zarate,  Conq.  del 
Peru,  lib.  1,  cap.  1. — Gomara,  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  cap.  141. — Pizarro  y Orellana,  Varones 
ilustres,  p.  211.  The  last  writer  admits  that  Almagro’s  parentage  is  unknown,  but  adds 
that  the  character  of  his  early  exploits  infers  an  illustrious  descent.  This  would  scarcely 
pass  for  evidence  with  the  College  of  Heralds. 


164 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  II. 


The  other  member  of  the  confederacy  was  Hernando  de 
Luque,  a Spanish  ecclesiastic,  who  exercised  the  functions  of 
vicar  at  Panama,  and  had  formerly  filled  the  office  of  school- 
master in  the  Cathedral  of  Darien.  He  seems  to  have  been  a 
man  of  singular  prudence  and  knowledge  of  the  world,  and  by 
his  respectable  qualities  had  acquired  considerable  influence 
in  the  little  community  to  which  he  belonged,  as  well  as  the 
control  of  funds,  which  made  his  co-operation  essential  to  the 
success  of  the  present  enterprise. 

It  was  arranged  among  the  three  associates  that  the  two  cav- 
aliers should  contribute  their  little  stock  toward  defraying  the 
expenses  of  the  armament,  but  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the 
funds  was  to  be  furnished  by  Luque.  Pizarro  was  to  take  com- 
mand of  the  expedition,  and  the  business  of  victualling  and 
equipping  the  vessels  was  assigned  to  Almagro.  The  associates 
found  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  the  consent  of  the  governor 
to  their  undertaking.  After  the  return  of  Andagoya,  he  had 
projected  another  expedition,  but  the  officer  to  whom  it  was 
to  be  intrusted  died.  Why  he  did  not  prosecute  his  original 
purpose,  and  commit  the  affair  to  an  experienced  captain  like 
Pizarro,  does  not  appear.  He  was  probably  not  displeased 
that  the  burden  of  the  enterprise  should  be  borne  by  others,  so 
long  as  a good  share  of  the  profits  went  into  his  own  coffers. 
This  he  did  not  overlook  in  his  stipulations.9 

Thus  fortified  with  the  funds  of  Luque  and  the  consent  of 
the  governor,  Almagro  was  not  slow  to  make  preparations  for 
the  voyage.  Two  small  vessels  were  purchased,  the  larger  of 
which  had  been  originally  built  by  Balboa  for  himself,  with  a 
view  to  this  same  expedition.  Since  his  death,  it  had  lain  dis- 

9 “ Asi  que  estos  tres  companeros  ya  dichos  acordaron  de  yr  a conquistar  esta  provincia 
ya  dicha.  Pues  consultandolo  con  Pedro  Arias  de  Avila  que  & la  sazon  hera  governador 
en  tierra  firme,  vino  en  ello  haziendo  compania  con  los  dichos  companeros  con  condicion  que 
Pedro  Arias  no  havia  de  contribuir  entonces  con  ningun  dinero  ni  otra  cosa  sino  de  lo  que 
se  hallase  en  la  tierra  de  lo  que  & el  le  cupiese  por  virtud  de  la  compania  de  allf  se  pagasen 
los  gastos  que  4 el  le  cupiesen.  Los  tres  companeros  vinieron  en  ello  por  aver  esta'  licencia 
porque  deotra  manera  no  la  alcanzaran.”  (Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS.)  An- 
dagoya, however,  affirms  that  the  governor  was  interested  equally  with  the  other  associates 
in  the  adventure,  each  taking  a fourth  part  on  himself.  (Navarrete,  Coleccion,  tom.  iii. 
No.  7.)  But  whatever  was  the  original  interest  of  Pedrarias,  it  mattered  little,  as  it  was 
surrendered  before  any  profits  were  realized  from  the  expedition. 


chap,  ii.]  FIRST  EXPEDITION  TO  THE  SOUTH.  165 


mantled  in  the  harbor  of  Panama.  It  was  now  refitted  as  well 
as  circumstances  would  permit,  and  put  in  order  for  sea,  while 
the  stores  and  provisions  were  got  on  board  with  an  alacrity 
which  did  more  credit,  as  the  event  proved,  to  Almagro’s  zeal 
than  to  his  forecast. 

There  was  more  difficulty  in  obtaining  the  necessary  com- 
plement of  hands  ; for  a general  feeling  of  distrust  had  gathered 
round  expeditions  in  this  direction,  which  could  not  readily  be 
overcome.  But  there  were  many  idle  hangers-on  in  the  colony, 
who  had  come  out  to  mend  their  fortunes,  and  were  willing  to 
take  their  chance  of  doing  so,  however  desperate.  From  such 
materials  as  these,  Almagro  assembled  a body  of  somewhat 
more  than  a hundred  men  ; 10  and,  everything  being  ready, 
Pizarro  assumed  the  command,  and,  weighing  anchor,  took  his 
departure  from  the  little  port  of  Panama  about  the  middle  of 
November,  1524.  Almagro  was  to  follow  in  a second  vessel 
of  inferior  size,  as  soon  as  it  could  be  fitted  out.11 

The  time  of  year  was  the  most  unsuitable  that  could  have 
been  selected  for  the  voyage  ; for  it  was  the  rainy  season,  when 
the  navigation  to  the  south,  impeded  by  contrary  winds,  is 
made  doubly  dangerous  by  the  tempests  that  sweep  over  the 
coast.  But  this  was  not  understood  by  the  adventurers.  After 
touching  at  the  Isle  of  Pearls,  the  frequent  resort  of  navigators, 
at  a few  leagues  distance  from  Panama,  Pizarro  held  his  way 
across  the  Gulf  of  St.  Michael,  and  steered  almost  due  south 
for  the  Puerto  de  Pinas,  a headland  in  the  province  of  Biruquete 
which  marked  the  limit  of  Andagoya’s  voyage.  Before  his  de- 
parture, Pizarro  had  obtained  all  the  information  which  he 

10  Herrera,  the  most  popular  historian  of  these  transactions,  estimates  the  number  of 
Pizarro’s  followers  at  only  eighty.  But  every  other  authority  which  I have  consulted 
raises  them  to  over  a hundred.  Father  Naharro,  a contemporary,  and  resident  at  Lima, 
even  allows  a hundred  and  twenty-nine.  Relacion  sumaria  de  la  Entrada  de  los  Es- 
panoles  en  el  Peru,  MS. 

11  There  is  the  usual  discrepancy  among  authors  about  the  date  of  this  expedition.  Most 
fix  it  at  1525.  I have  conformed  to  Xerez,  Pizarro’s  secretary,  whose  narrative  was  pub- 
lished ten  years  after  the  voyage,  and  who  could  hardly  have  forgotten  the  date  of  so  mem- 
orable an  event  in  so  short  an  interval  of  time.  (See  his  Conquista  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia, 
tom.  iii.  p.  179.) — The  year  seems  to  be  settled  by  Pizarro’s  Capitulacion  with  the  crown, 
which  I had  not  examined  till  after  the  above  was  written.  This  instrument,  dated  July, 
1529,  speaks  of  his  first  expedition  as  having  taken  place  about  five  years  previous.  (Sec 
Appendix  No.  7.) 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[book  n. 


1 66 

could  derive  from  that  officer  in  respect  to  the  country,  and  the 
route  he  was  to  follow.  But  the  cavalier’s  own  experience  had 
been  too  limited  to  enable  him  to  be  of  much  assistance. 

Doubling  the  Puerto  de  Pinas,  the  little  vessel  entered  the 
river  Biru,  the  misapplication  of  which  name  is  supposed  by 
some  to  have  given  rise  to  that  of  the  empire  of  the  Incas.12 
After  sailing  up  this  stream  for  a couple  of  leagues,  Pizarro 
came  to  anchor,  and,  disembarking  his  whole  force  except  the 
sailors,  proceeded  at  the  head  of  it  to  explore  the  country. 
The  land  spread  out  into  a vast  swamp,  where  the  heavy  rains 
had  settled  in  pools  of  stagnant  water,  and  the  muddy  soil  af- 
forded no  footing  to  the  traveller.  This  dismal  morass  was 
fringed  with  woods,  through  whose  thick  and  tangled  under- 
growth they  found  it  difficult  to  penetrate  ; and,  emerging  from 
them,  they  came  out  on  a hilly  country,  so  rough  and  rocky 
in  its  character  that  their  feet  were  cut  to  the  bone,  and  the 
weary  soldier,  encumbered  with  his  heavy  mail  or  thick-padded 
doublet  of  cotton,  found  it  difficult  to  drag  one  foot  after  the 
other.  The  heat  at  times  was  oppressive  ; and,  fainting  with 
toil  and  famished  for  want  of  food,  they  sank  down  on  the 
earth  from  mere  exhaustion.  Such  was  the  ominous  com- 
mencement of  the  expedition  to  Peru. 

Pizarro,  however,  did  not  lose  heart.  He  endeavored  to 
revive  the  spirits  of  his  men,  and  besought  them  not  to  be  dis- 
couraged by  difficulties  which  a brave  heart  would  be  sure  to 
overcome,  reminding  them  of  the  golden  prize  which  awaited 
those  who  persevered.  Yet  it  was  obvious  that  nothing  was 
to  be  gained  by  remaining  longer  in  this  desolate  region.  Re- 
turning to  their  vessel,  therefore,  it  was  suffered  to  drop  down 
the  river  and  proceed  along  its  southern  course  on  the  great 
ocean. 

After  coasting  a few  leagues,  Pizarro  anchored  off  a place 
not  very  inviting  in  its  appearance,  where  he  took  in  a supply 
of  wood  and  water.  Then,  stretching  more  toward  the  open 
sea,  he  held  on  in  the  same  direction  toward  the  south.  But 

12  Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  lib.  I,  cap.  i.— Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  3,  lib.  6,  cap. 
13. 


CHAP,  ii.]  DISTRESSES  OF  THE  VOYAGERS.  1 6j 

in  this  he  was  baffled  by  a succession  of  heavy  tempests,  accom- 
panied with  such  tremendous  peals  of  thunder  and  floods  of 
rain  as  are  found  only  in  the  terrible  storms  of  the  tropics. 
The  sea  was  lashed  into  fury,  and,  swelling  into  mountain  bil- 
lows, threatened  every  moment  to  overwhelm  the  crazy  little 
bark,  which  opened  at  every  seam.  For  ten  days  the  unfortu- 
nate voyagers  were  tossed  about  by  the  pitiless  elements,  and 
it  was  only  by  incessant  exertions — the  exertions  of  despair — 
that  they  preserved  the  ship  from  foundering.  To  add  to  their 
calamities,  their  provisions  began  to  fail,  and  they  were  short 
of  water,  of  which  they  had  been  furnished  only  with  a small 
number  of  casks ; for  Almagro  had  counted  on  their  recruiting 
their  scanty  supplies,  from  time  to  time,  from  the  shore.  Their 
meat  was  wholly  consumed,  and  they  were  reduced  to  the 
wretched  allowance  of  two  ears  of  Indian  corn  a day  for  each 
man. 

Thus  harassed  by  hunger  and  the  elements,  the  battered 
voyagers  were  too  happy  to  retrace  their  course  and  regain  the 
port  where  they  had  last  taken  in  supplies  of  wood  and  water. 
Yet  nothing  could  be  more  unpromising  than  the  aspect  of  the 
country.  It  had  the  same  character  of  low,  swampy  soil  that 
distinguished  the  former  landing-place ; while  thick-matted  for- 
ests, of  a depth  which  the  eye  could  not  penetrate,  stretched 
along  the  coast  to  an  interminable  length.  It  was  in  vain  that 
the  wearied  Spaniards  endeavored  to  thread  the  mazes  of  this 
tangled  thicket,  where  the  creepers  and  flowering  vines,  that 
shoot  up  luxuriant  in  a hot  and  humid  atmosphere,  had  twined 
themselves  round  the  huge  trunks  of  the  forest-trees  and  made 
a net-work  that  could  be  opened  only  with  the  axe.  The  rain, 
in  the  meantime,  rarely  slackened,  and  the  ground,  strewed 
with  leaves  and  saturated  with  moisture,  seemed  to  slip  away 
beneath  their  feet. 

Nothing  could  be  more  dreary  and  disheartening  than  the 
aspect  of  these  funereal  forests,  where  the  exhalations  from 
the  overcharged  surface  of  the  ground  poisoned  the  air,  and 
seemed  to  allow  no  life,  except  that,  indeed,  of  myriads  of  in- 
sects, whose  enamelled  wings  glanced  to  and  fro,  like  sparks  of 


i68 


DISCOVERY  OR  PERU . 


[BOOK  II. 


fire,  in  every  opening  of  the  woods.  Even  the  brute  creation 
appeared  instinctively  to  have  shunned  the  fatal  spot,  and 
neither  beast  nor  bird  of  any  description  was  seen  by  the  wan- 
derers. Silence  reigned  unbroken  in  the  heart  of  these  dis- 
mal solitudes ; at  least,  the  only  sounds  that  could  be  heard 
were  the  plashing  of  the  rain-drops  on  the  leaves,  and  the 
tread  of  the  forlorn  adventurers.13 

Entirely  discouraged  by  the  aspect  of  the  country,  the  Span- 
iards began  to  comprehend  that  they  had  gained  nothing  by 
changing  their  quarters  from  sea  to  shore,  and  they  felt  the  most 
serious  apprehensions  of  perishing  from  famine  in  a region 
which  afforded  nothing  but  such  unwholesome  berries  as  they 
could  pick  here  and  there  in  the  woods.  They  loudly  com- 
plained of  their  hard  lot,  accusing  their  commander  as  the 
author  of  all  their  troubles,  and  as  deluding  them  with  prom- 
ises of  a fairy-land,  which  seemed  to  recede  in  proportion  as 
they  advanced.  It  was  of  no  use,  they  said,  to  contend 
against  fate,  and  it  was  better  to  take  their  chance  of  regaining 
the  port  of  Panama  in  time  to  save  their  lives,  than  to  wait 
where  they  were  to  die  of  hunger. 

But  Pizarro  was  prepared  to  encounter  much  greater  evils 
than  these  before  returning  to  Panama,  bankrupt  in  credit,  an 
object  of  derision  as  a vainglorious  dreamer  who  had  persuaded 
others  to  embark  in  an  adventure  which  he  had  not  the  cour- 
age to  carry  through  himself.  The  present  was  his  only 
chance.  To  return  would  be  ruin.  He  used  every  argument, 
therefore,  that  mortified  pride  or  avarice  could  suggest  to  turn 
his  followers  from  their  purpose ; represented  to  them  that 
these  were  the  troubles  that  necessarily  lay  in  the  path  of  the 
discoverer,  and  called  to  mind  the  brilliant  successes  of  their 
countrymen  in  other  quarters,  and  the  repeated  reports  which 
they  had  themselves  received  of  the  rich  regions  along  this 
coast,  of  which  it  required  only  courage  and  constancy  on  their 
part  to  become  the  masters.  Yet  as  their  present  exigencies 


lSXerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  180. — Relacion  del  primer  Descub., 
MS.— Montesinos,  Annales,  MS.  afio  1515. — Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  lib.  i',  cap.  1.— 
Gacrcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  2,  lib.  1,  cap.  7.— Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  3,  lib.  6, 


chap,  ii.]  DISTRESSES  OF  THE  VOYAGERS.  1 69 

were  pressing,  he  resolved  to  send  back  the  vessel  to  the  Isle  of 
Pearls,  to  lay  in  a fresh  stock  of  provisions  for  his  company, 
which  might  enable  them  to  go  forward  with  renewed  confi- 
dence. The  distance  was  not  great,  and  in  a few  days  they 
would  all  be  relieved  from  their  perilous  position.  The  officer 
detached  on  this  service  was  named  Montenegro ; and  taking 
with  him  nearly  half  the  company,  after  receiving  Pizarro’s 
directions,  he  instantly  weighed  anchor  and  steered  for  the  Isle 
of  Pearls. 

On  the  departure  of  his  vessel,  the  Spanish  commander  made 
an  attempt  to  explore  the  country  and  see  if  some  Indian  set- 
tlement might  not  be  found,  where  he  could  procure  refresh- 
ments for  his  followers.  But  his  efforts  were  vain,  and  no 
trace  was  visible  of  a human  dwelling ; though  in  the  dense 
and  impenetrable  foliage  of  the  equatorial  regions  the  distance 
of  a few  rods  might  suffice  to  screen  a city  from  observation. 
The  only  means  of  nourishment  left  to  the  unfortunate  advent- 
urers were  such  shell-fish  as  they  occasionally  picked  up  on 
the  shore,  or  the  bitter  buds  of  the  palm-tree,  and  such  berries 
and  unsavory  herbs  as  grew  wild  in  the  woods.  Some  of  these 
were  so  poisonous  that  the  bodies  of  those  who  ate  them  swelled 
up  and  were  tormented  with  racking  pains.  Others,  preferring 
famine  to  this  miserable  diet,  pined  away  from  weakness  and 
actually  died  of  starvation.  Yet  their  resolute  leader  strove  to 
maintain  his  own  cheerfulness  and  to  keep  up  the  drooping 
spirits  of  his  men.  He  freely  shared  with  them  his  scanty 
stock  of  provisions,  was  unwearied  in  his  endeavors  to  procure 
them  sustenance,  tended  the  sick,  and  ordered  barracks  to  be 
constructed  for  their  accommodation,  which  might  at  least 
shelter  them  from  the  drenching  storms  of  the  season.  By  this 
ready  sympathy  with  his  followers  in  their  sufferings  he  ob- 
tained an  ascendency  over  their  rough  natures  which  the  as- 
sertion of  authority,  at  least  in  the  present  extremity,  could 
never  have  secured  to  him. 

Day  after  day,  week  after  week,  had  now  passed  away,  and 
no  tidings  were  heard  of  the  vessel  that  was  to  bring  relief  to 
the  wanderers.  In  vain  did  they  strain  their  eyes  over  the  dis- 


170 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU, 


[BOOK  II. 


tant  waters  to  catch  a glimpse  of  their  coming  friends.  Not  a 
speck  was  to  be  seen  in  the  blue  distance,  where  the  canoe  of 
the  savage  dared  not  venture,  and  the  sail  of  the  white  man 
was  not  yet  spread.  Those  who  had  borne  up  bravely  at  first 
now  gave  way  to  despondency,  as  they  felt  themselves  aban- 
doned by  their  countrymen  on  this  desolate  shore.  They 
pined  under  that  sad  feeling  which  ‘ ‘ maketh  the  heart  sick.  ’ * 
More  than  twenty  of  the  little  band  had  already  died,  and  the 
survivors  seemed  to  be  rapidly  following.14 

At  this  crisis  reports  were  brought  to  Pizarro  of  a light  hav- 
ing been  seen  through  a distant  opening  in  the  woods.  He 
hailed  the  tidings  with  eagerness,  as  intimating  the  existence 
of  some  settlement  in  the  neighborhood,  and,  putting  himself  at 
the  head  of  a small  party,  went  in  the  direction  pointed  out, 
to  reconnoitre.  He  was  not  disappointed,  and,  after  extricat- 
ing himself  from  a dense  wilderness  of  underbrush  and  foliage, 
he  emerged  into  an  open  space,  where  a small  Indian  village 
was  planted.  The  timid  inhabitants,  on  the  sudden  appari- 
tion of  the  strangers,  quitted  their  huts  in  dismay ; and  the 
famished  Spaniards,  rushing  in,  eagerly  made  themselves  mas- 
ters of  their  contents.  These  consisted  of  different  articles  of 
food,  chiefly  maize  and  cocoanuts.  The  supply,  though  small, 
was  too  seasonable  not  to  fill  them  with  rapture. 

The  astonished  natives  made  no  attempt  at  resistance.  But, 
gathering  more  confidence  as  no  violence  was  offered  to  their 
persons,  they  drew  nearer  the  white  men,  and  inquired,  “ Why 
they  did  not  stay  at  home  and  till  their  own  lands,  instead  of 
roaming  about  to  rob  others  who  had  never  harmed  them  ? ’ ’ 15 
Whatever  may  have  been  their  opinion  as  to  the  question  of 
right,  the  Spaniards,  no  doubt,  felt  then  that  it  would  have  been 
wiser  to  do  so.  But  the  savages  wore  about  their  persons  gold 
ornaments  of  some  size,  though  of  clumsy  workmanship.  This 
furnished  the  best  reply  to  their  demand.  It  was  the  golden 

14  Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  3,  lib.  6,  cap.  13. — Relacion  del  primer,  Descub.,  MS. — 
Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ubi  supra. 

16  “Porque  decian  & los  Castellanos,  que  por  qufe  no  sembraban,  i cogian,  sin  andar 
tomando  los  Bastimentos  agenos,  pasando  tantos  trabajos?”  Herrera,  Hist,  general, 
loc.  cit. 


chap.il]  DISTRESSES  OF  THE  VOYAGERS. 


171 

bait  which  lured  the  Spanish  adventurer  to  forsake  his  pleasant 
home  for  the  trials  of  the  wilderness.  From  the  Indians  Pi- 
zarro  gathered  a confirmation  of  the  reports  he  had  so  often  re- 
ceived of  a rich  country  lying  farther  south  ; and  at  the  dis- 
tance of  ten  days’  journey  across  the  mountains,  they  told  him, 
there  dwelt  a mighty  monarch  whose  dominions  had  been  in- 
vaded by  another  still  more  powerful,  the  Child  of  the  Sun.16 
It  may  have  been  the  invasion  of  Quito  that  was  meant,  by 
the  valiant  Inca  Huayna  Capac,  which  took  place  some  years 
previous  to  Pizarro’s  expedition. 

At  length,  after  the  expiration  of  more  than  six  weeks,  the 
Spaniards  beheld  with  delight  the  return  of  the  wandering 
bark  that  had  borne  away  their  comrades,  and  Montenegro 
sailed  into  port  with  an  ample  supply  of  provisions  for  his 
famishing  countrymen.  Great  was  his  horror  at  the  aspect 
presented  by  the  latter,  their  wild  and  haggard  countenances 
and  wasted  frames — so  wasted  by  hunger  and  disease  that  their 
old  companions  found  it  difficult  to  recognize  them.  Monte- 
negro accounted  for  his  delay  by  incessant  head-winds  and  bad 
weather  ; and  he  himself  had  also  a doleful  tale  to  tell  of  the 
distress  to  which  he  and  his  crew  had  been  reduced  by  hunger 
on  their  passage  to  the  Isle  of  Pearls.  It  is  minute  incidents 
like  these  with  which  we  have  been  occupied  that  enable  one 
to  comprehend  the  extremity  of  suffering  to  which  the  Spanish 
adventurer  was  subjected  in  the  prosecution  of  his  great  work 
of  discovery. 

Revived  by  the  substantial  nourishment  to  which  they  had 
so  long  been  strangers,  the  Spanish  cavaliers,  with  the  buoy- 
ancy that  belongs  to  men  of  a hazardous  and  roving  life,  forgot 
their  past  distresses  in  their  eagerness  to  prosecute  their  enter- 
prise. Re-embarking,  therefore,  on  board  his  vessel,  Pizarro 

16  “ Dioles  noticia  el  viejo  por  medio  del  lengua,  como  diez  soles  de  alii  habia  un  Rey 
muy  poderoso  yendo  por  espesas,  montanas,  y que  otro  mas  poderoso  hijo  del  sol  habia 
venido  de  milagro  a quitarle  el  Reino  sobre  que  tenian  mui  sangrientas  batallas.”  (Monte- 
sinos,  Annales,  MS.,  ano  1525.)  The  conquest  of  Quito  by  Huayna  Capac  took  place 
more  than  thirty  years  before  this  period  in  our  history.  But  the  particulars  of  this  revolu- 
tion, its  time  or  precise  theatre,  were  probably  but  very  vaguely  comprehended  by  the 
rude  nations  in  the  neighborhood  of  Panamd ; and  their  allusion  to  it  in  an  unknown 
dialect  was  as  little  comprehended  by  the  Spanish  voyagers,  who  must  have  collected  theisr 
information  from  signs  much  more  than  words. 

Peru  8 


Yol.  1 


172 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  II. 


bade  adieu  to  the  scene  of  so  much  suffering,  which  he  branded 
with  the  appropriate  name  of  Puerto  de  la  Hambre , the  Port 
of  Famine,  and  again  opened  his  sails  to  a favorable  breeze  that 
bore  him  onward  toward  the  south. 

Had  he  struck  boldly  out  into  the  deep,  instead  of  hugging 
the  inhospitable  shore,  where  he  had  hitherto  found  so  little  to 
recompense  him,  he  might  have  spared  himself  the  repetition 
of  wearisome  and  unprofitable  adventures  and  reached  by  a 
shorter  route  the  point  of  his  destination.  But  the  Spanish 
mariner  groped  his  way  along  these  unknown  coasts,  landing 
at  every  convenient  headland,  as  if  fearful  lest  some  fruitful 
region  or  precious  mine  might  be  overlooked  should  a single 
break  occur  in  the  line  of  survey.  Yet  it  should  be  remem- 
bered that,  though  the  true  point  of  Pizarro’s  destination  is 
obvious  to  us,  familiar  with  the  topography  of  these  countries, 
he  was  wandering  in  the  dark,  feeling  his  way  along  inch  by 
inch,  as  it  were,  without  chart  to  guide  him,  without  knowl- 
edge of  the  seas  or  of  the  bearings  of  the  coast,  and  even  with 
no  better  defined  idea  of  the  object  at  which  he  aimed  than 
that  of  a land,  teeming  with  gold,  that  lay  somewhere  at  the 
south  ! It  was  a hunt  after  an  El  Dorado , on  information 
scarcely  more  circumstantial  or  authentic  than  that  which  fur- 
nished the  basis  of  so  many  chimerical  enterprises  in  this  land 
of  wonders.  Success  only,  the  best  argument  with  the  multi- 
tude, redeemed  the  expeditions  of  Pizarro  from  a similar  impu- 
tation of  extravagance. 

Holding  on  his  southerly  course  under  the  lee  of  the  shore, 
Pizarro,  after  a short  run,  found  himself  abreast  of  an  open 
reach  of  country,  or  at  least  one  less  encumbered  with  wood, 
which  rose  by  a gradual  swell  as  it  receded  from  the  coast. 
He  landed  with  a small  body  of  men,  and,  advancing  a short 
distance  into  the  interior,  fell  in  with  an  Indian  hamlet.  It 
was  abandoned  by  the  inhabitants,  who  on  the  approach  of  the 
invaders  had  betaken  themselves  to  the  mountains ; and  the 
Spaniards,  entering  their  deserted  dwellings,  found  there  a 
good  store  of  maize  and  other  articles  of  food,  and  rude  orna- 
ments of  gold  of  considerable  value.  Food  was  not  more  nec« 


CHAP.  II.] 


SHARP  ENCOUNTERS. 


173 


essary  for  their  bodies  than  was  the  sight  of  gold,  from  time 
to  time,  to  stimulate  their  appetite  for  adventure.  One  spec- 
tacle, however,  chilled  their  blood  with  horror.  This  was  the 
sight  of  human  flesh,  which  they  found  roasting  before  the  fire, 
as  the  barbarians  had  left  it,  preparatory  to  their  obscene 
repast.  The  Spaniards,  conceiving  that  they  had  fallen  in 
with  a tribe  of  Caribs,  the  only  race  in  that  part  of  the  New 
World  known  to  be  cannibals,  retreated  precipitately  to  their 
vessel.17  They  were  not  steeled  by  sad  familiarity  with  the 
spectacle,  like  the  Conquerors  of  Mexico. 

The  weather,  which  had  been  favorable,  now  set  in  tempest- 
uous, with  heavy  squalls,  accompanied  by  incessant  thunder 
and  lightning,  and  the  rain,  as  usual  in  these  tropical  tempests, 
descended  not  so  much  in  drops  as  in  unbroken  sheets  of  water. 
The  Spaniards,  however,  preferred  to  take  their  chance  on  the 
raging  element  rather  than  remain  in  the  scene  of  such  brutal 
abominations.  But  the  fury  of  the  storm  gradually  subsided, 
and  the  little  vessel  held  on  her  way  along  the  coast,  till,  com- 
ing abreast  of  a bold  point  of  land  named  by  Pizarro  Punta 
Quemada,  he  gave  orders  to  anchor.  The  margin  of  the 
shore  was  fringed  with  a deep  belt  of  mangrove-trees,  the  long 
roots  of  which,  interlacing  one  another,  formed  a kind  of  sub- 
marine lattice-work  that  made  the  place  difficult  of  approach. 
Several  avenues,  opening  through  this  tangled  thicket,  led 
Pizarro  to  conclude  that  the  country  must  be  inhabited,  and 
he  disembarked,  with  the  greater  part  of  his  force,  to  explore 
the  interior. 

He  had  not  penetrated  more  than  a league  when  he  found 
his  conjecture  verified  by  the  sight  of  an  Indian  town,  of 
larger  size  than  those  he  had  hitherto  seen,  occupying  the 
brow  of  an  eminence,  and  well  defended  by  palisades.  The  in- 
habitants, as  usual,  had  fled,  but  left  in  their  dwellings  a good 
supply  of  provisions  and  some  gold  trinkets,  which  the  Span- 
iards made  no  difficulty  of  appropriating  to  themselves.  Pi- 


17  “I  enlas  Ollas  de  la  comida,  que  estaban  al  Fuego,  entre  la  Came,  que  sacaban, 
havia  Pies  i Manos  de  Hombres,  de  donde  conocieron,  qae  aquellos  Indios  eran  Caribes." 
Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  xi. 


17  4 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  It, 


zarro’s  flimsy  bark  had  been  strained  by  the  heavy  gales  it  had 
of  late  encountered,  so  that  it  was  unsafe  to  prosecute  the  voy- 
age farther  without  more  thorough  repairs  than  could  be  given 
to  her  on  this  desolate  coast.  He  accordingly  determined  to 
send  her  back  with  a few  hands  to  be  careened  at  Panama,  and 
meanwhile  to  establish  his  quarters  in  his  present  position, 
which  was  so  favorable  for  defence.  But  first  he  despatched  a 
small  party  under  Montenegro  to  reconnoitre  the  country,  and, 
if  possible,  to  open  a communication  with  the  natives. 

The  latter  were  a warlike  race.  They  had  left  their  habita- 
tions in  order  to  place  their  wives  and  children  in  safety.  But 
they  had  kept  an  eye  on  the  movements  of  the  invaders,  and 
when  they  saw  their  forces  divided  they  resolved  to  fall  upon 
each  body  singly  before  it  could  communicate  with  the  other. 
So  soon,  therefore,  as  Montenegro  had  penetrated  through  the 
defiles  of  the  lofty  hills  which  shoot  out  like  spurs  of  the  Cor- 
dilleras along  this  part  of  the  coast,  the  Indian  warriors,  spring- 
ing from  their  ambush,  sent  off  a cloud  of  arrows  and  other 
missiles  that  darkened  the  air,  while  they  made  the  forest  ring 
with  their  shrill  war-whoop.  The  Spaniards,  astonished  at  the 
appearance  of  the  savages,  with  their  naked  bodies  gaudily 
painted,  and  brandishing  their  weapons  as  they  glanced  among 
the  trees  and  straggling  underbrush  that  choked  up  the  defile, 
were  taken  by  surprise  and  thrown  for  a moment  into  disarray. 
Three  of  their  number  were  killed  and  several  wounded.  Yet, 
speedily  rallying,  they  returned  the  discharge  of  the  assailants 
with  their  cross-bows — for  Pizarro’s  troops  do  not  seem  to  have 
been  provided  with  muskets  on  this  expedition — and  then,  gal- 
lantly charging  the  enemy,  sword  in  hand,  succeeded  in  driv- 
ing them  back  into  the  fastnesses  of  the  mountains.  But  it  only 
led  them  to  shift  their  operations  to  another  quarter,  and  make 
an  assault  on  Pizarro  before  he  could  be  relieved  by  his  lieu- 
tenant. 

Availing  themselves  of  their  superior  knowledge  of  the  passes, 
they  reached  that  commander’s  quarters  long  before  Monte- 
negro, who  had  commenced  a countermarch  in  the  same  direc- 
tion ; and,  issuing  from  the  woods,  the  bold  savages  saluted  the 


CHAP.  II.] 


SHARP  ENCOUNTERS. 


175 


Spanish  garrison  with  a tempest  of  darts  and  arrows,  some  of 
which  found  their  way  through  the  joints  of  the  harness  and 
the  quilted  mail  of  the  cavaliers.  But  Pizarro  was  too  well- 
practised  a soldier  to  be  off  his  guard.  Calling  his  men  about 
him,  he  resolved  not  to  abide  the  assault  tamely  in  the  works, 
but  to  sally  out  and  meet  the  enemy  on  their  own  ground. 
The  barbarians,  who  had  advanced  near  the  defences,  fell  back 
as  the  Spaniards  burst  forth  with  their  valiant  leader  at  their 
head.  But  soon  returning  with  admirable  ferocity  to  the 
charge,  they  singled  out  Pizarro,  whom,  by  his  bold  bearing 
and  air  of  authority  they  easily  recognized  as  the  chief,  and, 
hurling  at  him  a storm  of  missiles,  wounded  him,  in  spite  of 
his  armor,  in  no  less  than  seven  places.18 

Driven  back  by  the  fury  of  the  assault  directed  against  his  own 
person,  the  Spanish  commander  retreated  down  the  slope  of  the 
hill,  still  defending  himself  as  he  could  with  sword  and  buck- 
ler, when  his  foot  slipped  and  he  fell.  The  enemy  set  up  a 
fierce  yell  of  triumph,  and  some  of  the  boldest  sprang  forward 
to  despatch  him.  But  Pizarro  was  on  his  feet  in  an  instant, 
and,  striking  down  two  of  the  foremost  with  his  strong  arm, 
held  the  rest  at  bay  till  his  soldiers  could  come  to  the  rescue. 
The  barbarians,  struck  with  admiration  at  his  valor,  began  to 
falter,  when  Montenegro  luckily  coming  on  the  ground  at  the 
moment,  and  falling  on  their  rear,  completed  their  confusion ; 
and,  abandoning  the  field,  they  made  the  best  of  their  way  into 
the  recesses  of  the  mountains.  The  ground  was  covered  with 
their  slain  ; but  the  victory  was  dearly  purchased  by  the  death 
of  two  more  Spaniards  and  a long  list  of  wounded. 

A council  of  war  was  then  called.  The  position  had  lost  its 
charm  in  the  eyes  of  the  Spaniards,  who  had  met  here  with  the 
first  resistance  they  had  yet  experienced  on  their  expedition. 
It  was  necessary  to  place  the  wounded  in  some  secure  spot, 
where  their  injuries  could  be  attended  to.  Yet  it  was  not  safe 
to  proceed  farther,  in  the  crippled  state  of  their  vessel.  On 
the  whole,  it  was  decided  to  return  and  report  their  proceed - 

18  Naharro,  Relacion  sumaria,  MS. — Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  180. 
—Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  lib.  1,  cap.  1. — Balboa,  Hist,  du  Perou,  chap.  15. 


1 76  DISCOVERY  OF  PERU.  [book  il 

ings  to  the  governor  ; and,  though  the  magnificent  hopes  of  the 
adventurers  had  not  been  realized,  Pizarro  trusted  that  enough 
had  been  done  to  vindicate  the  importance  of  the  enterprise 
and  to  secure  the  countenance  of  Pedrarias  for  the  further  prose- 
cution of  it.19 

Yet  Pizarro  could  not  make  up  his  mind  to  present  himself, 
in  the  present  state  of  the  undertaking,  before  the  governor. 
He  determined,  therefore,  to  be  set  on  shore  with  the  princi- 
pal’ part  of  his  company  at  Chicama,  a place  on  the  mainland, 
at  a short  distance  west  of  Panama.  From  this  place,  which 
he  reached  without  any  further  accident,  he  despatched  the 
vessel,  and  in  it  his  treasurer,  Nicolas  de  Ribera,  with  the  gold 
he  had  collected,  and  with  instructions  to  lay  before  the  gov- 
ernor a full  account  of  his  discoveries  and  the  result  of  the 
expedition. 

While  these  events  were  passing,  Pizarro’ s associate,  Alma- 
gro,  had  been  busily  employed  in  fitting  out  another  vessel  for 
the  expedition  at  the  port  of  Panama.  It  was  not  till  long 
after  his  friend’s  departure  that  he  was  prepared  to  follow  him. 
With  the  assistance  of  Luque,  he  at  length  succeeded  in  equip- 
ping a small  caravel  and  embarking  a body  of  between  sixty 
and  seventy  adventurers,  mostly  of  the  lowest  order  of  the  col- 
onists. He  steered  in  the  track  of  his  comrade,  with  the  in- 
tention of  overtaking  him  as  soon  as  possible.  By  a signal  pre- 
viously concerted  of  notching  the  trees,  he  was  able  to  identify 
the  spots  visited  by  Pizarro — Puerto  de  Pinas,  Puerto  de  la 
Hambre,  Pueblo  Quemado — touching  successively  at  every 
point  of  the  coast  explored  by  his  countrymen,  though  in  a 
much  shorter  time.  At  the  last-mentioned  place  he  was  re- 
ceived by  the  fierce  natives  with  the  same  hostile  demonstra- 
tions as  Pizarro,  though  in  the  present  encounter  the  Indians 
did  not  venture  beyond  their  defences.  But  the  hot  blood  of 
Almagro  was  so  exasperated  by  this  check  that  he  assaulted 
the  place  and  carried  it  sword  in  hand,  setting  fire  to  the  out- 
works and  dwellings,  and  driving  the  wretched  inhabitants  into 
the  forests. 


19  Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  11.—  Xerez,  ubi  supra. 


CHAP.  II.] 


ALMAGRO'S  EXPEDITION. 


1 77 


His  victory  cost  him  dear.  A wound  from  a javelin  on  the 
head  caused  an  inflammation  in  one  of  his  eyes,  which,  after 
great  anguish,  ended  in  the  loss  of  it.  Yet  the  intrepid  advent- 
urer did  not  hesitate  to  pursue  his  voyage,  and,  after  touching 
at  several  places  on  the  coast,  some  of  which  rewarded  him 
with  a considerable  booty  in  gold,  he  reached  the  mouth  of  the 
Rio  de  San  Juan,  about  the  fourth  degree  of  north  latitude. 
He  was  struck  with  the  beauty  of  the  stream,  and  with  the 
cultivation  on  its  borders,  which  were  sprinkled  with  Indian 
cottages  showing  some  skill  in  their  construction,  and  alto- 
gether intimating  a higher  civilization  than  anything  he  had 
yet  seen. 

Still  his  mind  was  filled  with  anxiety  for  the  fate  of  Pizarro 
and  his  followers.  No  trace  of  them  had  been  found  on  the 
coast  for  a long  time,  and  it  was  evident  they  must  have  foun- 
dered at  sea  or  made  their  way  back  to  Panama.  This  last  he 
deemed  most  probable ; as  the  vessel  might  have  passed  him 
unnoticed  under  the  cover  of  the  night  or  of  the  dense  fogs 
that  sometimes  hang  over  the  coast. 

Impressed  with  this  belief,  he  felt  no  heart  to  continue  his 
voyage  of  discovery,  for  which,  indeed,  his  single  bark,  with 
its  small  complement  of  men,  was  altogether  inadequate.  He 
proposed,  therefore,  to  return  without  delay.  On  his  way  he 
touched  at  the  Isle  of  Pearls,  and  there  learned  the  result  of  his 
friend’s  expedition  and  the  place  of  his  present  residence.  He 
directed  his  course  at  once  to  Chicama,  where  the  two  cavaliers 
soon  had  the  satisfaction  of  embracing  each  other,  and  recount- 
ing their  several  exploits  and  escapes.  Almagro  returned  even 
better  freighted  with  gold  than  his  confederate,  and  at  every 
step  of  his  progress  he  had  collected  fresh  confirmation  of  the 
existence  of  some  great  and  opulent  empire  in  the  South.  The 
confidence  of  the  two  friends  was  much  strengthened  by  their 
discoveries  \ and  they  unhesitatingly  pledged  themselves  to  one 
another  to  die  rather  than  abandon  the  enterprise.20 

20  Xerez,  ubi  supra. — Naharro,  Relacion  sumaria,  MS. — Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  loc. 
cit. — Balboa,  Hist,  du  Ferou,  chap.  15. — Pelacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. — Herrera, 
Hist,  general,  dec.  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  13.— Levinus  Apollonius,  fol.  12.— Gomara,  Hist,  de  las 
Ind.,  cap.  108. 


i78 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  H 


The  best  means  of  obtaining  the  levies  requisite  for  so  for* 
midable  an  undertaking — more  formidable,  as  it  now  appeared 
to  them,  than  before — were  made  the  subject  of  long  and  se- 
rious discussion.  It  was  at  length  decided  that  Pizarro  should 
remain  in  his  present  quarters,  inconvenient  and  even  unwhole- 
some as  they  were  rendered  by  the  humidity  of  the  climate 
and  the  pestilent  swarms  of  insects  that  filled  the  atmosphere. 
Almagro  would  pass  over  to  Panama,  lay  the  case  before  the 
governor,  and  secure,  if  possible,  his  good  will  toward  the 
prosecution  of  the  enterprise.  If  no  obstacle  were  thrown  in 
their  way  from  this  quarter,  they  might  hope,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  Luque,  to  raise  the  necessary  supplies ; while  the  re- 
sults of  the  recent  expedition  were  sufficiently  encouraging  to 
draw  adventurers  to  their  standard  in  a community  which  had 
a craving  for  excitement  that  gave  even  danger  a charm,  and 
which  held  life  cheap  in  comparison  with  gold. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  Famous  Contract. — Second  Expedition. — Ruiz  explores  the  Coast. — 
Pizarro ’s  Sufferings  in  the  Forests.  — Arrival  of  new  Recruits. — • 
Fresh  Discoveries  and  Disasters. — Pizarro  on  the  Isle  of  Gallo. 

1526-1527. 

On  his  arrival  at  Panama,  Almagro  found  that  events  had 
taken  a turn  less  favorable  to  his  views  than  he  had  anticipated. 
Pedrarias,  the  governor,  was  preparing  to  lead  an  expedition 
in  person  against  a rebellious  officer  in  Nicaragua ; and  his  tem- 
per, naturally  not  the  most  amiable,  was  still  further  soured  by 
this  defection  of  his  lieutenant  and  the  necessity  it  imposed  on 
him  of  a long  and  perilous  march.  When,  therefore,  Almagro  ap- 
peared before  him  with  the  request  that  he  might  be  permitted 
to  raise  further  levies  to  prosecute  his  enterprise,  the  governor 
received  him  with  obvious  dissatisfaction,  listened  coldly  to  the 
narrative  of  his  losses,  turned  an  incredulous  ear  to  his  magnif- 


CHAP.  III.] 


THE  FAMOUS  COJVTE ACT. 


179 


icent  promises  for  the  future,  and  bluntly  demanded  an  account 
of  the  lives  which  had  been  sacrificed  by  Pizarro’s  obstinacy, 
but  which,  had  they  been  spared,  might  have  stood  him  in 
good  stead  in  his  present  expedition  to  Nicaragua.  He  pos- 
itively declined  to  countenance  the  rash  schemes  of  the  two 
adventurers  any  longer,  and  the  conquest  of  Peru  would  have 
been  crushed  in  the  bud  but  for  the  efficient  interposition  of 
the  remaining  associate,  Fernando  de  Luque. 

This  sagacious  ecclesiastic  had  received  a very  different  im- 
pression from  Almagro’s  narrative  from  that  which  had  been 
made  on  the  mind  of  the  irritable  governor.  The  actual  re- 
sults of  the  enterprise  in  gold  and  silver  thus  far,  indeed,  had 
been  small — forming  a mortifying  contrast  to  the  magnitude 
of  their  expectations.  But  in  another  point  of  view  they  were 
of  the  last  importance ; since  the  intelligence  which  the  ad- 
venturers had  gained  at  every  successive  stage  of  their  prog- 
ress confirmed,  in  the  strongest  manner,  the  previous  accounts, 
received  from  Andagoya  and  others,  of  a rich  Indian  empire 
at  the  south,  which  might  repay  the  trouble  of  conquering  it 
as  well  as  Mexico  had  repaid  the  enterprise  of  Cortes.  Fully 
entering,  therefore,  into  the  feelings  of  his  military  associates, 
he  used  all  his  influence  with  the  governor  to  incline  him  to  a 
more  favorable  view  of  Almagro’s  petition  ; and  no  one  in  the 
little  community  of  Panama  exercised  greater  influence  over 
the  councils  of  the  executive  than  Father  L^que,  for  which  he 
was  indebted  no  less  to  his  discretion  and  acknowledged  sagac- 
ity than  to  his  professional  station. 

But  while  Pedrarias,  overcome  by  the  arguments  or  impor- 
tunity of  the  churchman,  yielded  a reluctant  assent  to  the  ap- 
plication, he  took  care  to  testify  his  displeasure  with  Pizarro, 
on  whom  he  particularly  charged  the  loss  of  his  followers,  by 
naming  Almagro  as  his  equal  in  command  in  the  proposed  ex- 
pedition. This  mortification  sank  deep  into  Pizarro’s  mind. 
He  suspected  his  comrade,  with  what  reason  does  not  appear, 
of  soliciting  this  boon  from  the  governor.  A temporary  cold- 
ness arose  between  them,  which  subsided,  in  outward  show  at 
least,  on  Pizarro’s  reflecting  that  it  was  better  to  have  this 


i8o 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU . 


[BOOK  il 


authority  conferred  on  a friend  than  on  a stranger,  perhaps  an 
enemy.  But  the  seeds  of  permanent  distrust  were  left  in  his 
bosom,  and  lay  waiting  for  the  due  season  to  ripen  into  a fruit- 
ful harvest  of  discord.1 

Pedrarias  had  been  originally  interested  in  the  enterprise,  at 
least  so  far  as  to  stipulate  for  a share  of  the  gains,  though  he 
had  not  contributed,  as  it  appears,  a single  ducat  toward  the 
expenses.  He  was  at  length,  however,  induced  to  relinquish 
all  right  to  a share  of  the  contingent  profits.  But  in  his  man- 
ner of  doing  so  he  showed  a mercenary  spirit  better  becoming 
a petty  trader  than  a high  officer  of  the  crown.  He  stipulated 
that  the  associates  should  secure  to  him  the  sum  of  one  thou- 
sand pesos  de  oro  in  requital  of  his  good  will,  and  they  eagerly 
closed  with  his  proposal,  rather  than  be  encumbered  with  his  pre- 
tensions. For  so  paltry  a consideration  did  he  resign  his  por- 
tion of  the  rich  spoil  of  the  Incas  ! 2 3 But  the  governor  was  not 
gifted  with  the  eye  of  a prophet.  His  avarice  was  of  that 
short-sighted  kind  which  defeats  itself.  He  had  sacrificed 
the  chivalrous  Balboa  just  as  that  officer  was  opening  to  him  the 
conquest  of  Peru,  and  he  would  now  have  quenched  the  spirit 
of  enterprise,  that  was  taking  the  same  direction,  in  Pizarro 
and  his  associates. 

Not  long  after  this,  in  the  following  year,  he  was  succeeded 
in  his  government  by  Don  Pedro  de  los  Rios,  a cavalier  of 
Cordova.  It  was  the  policy  of  the  Castilian  crown  to  allow  no 
one  of  the  great  colonial  officers  to  occupy  the  same  station  so 


1 Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  180. — Montesinos,  Annales,  MS.,  ano 

1526. — Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  12. 

3 Such  is  the  account  of  Oviedo,  who  was  present  at  the  interview  between  the  governor 
and  Almagro  when  the  terms  of  compensation  were  discussed.  The  dialogue,  which  is 
amusing  enough,  and  well  told  by  the  old  Chronicler,  may  be  found  translated  in  Appendix 
No.  5.  Another  version  of  the  affair  is  given  in  the  Relation,  often  quoted  by  me,  of  one 
of  the  Peruvian  conquerors,  in  'which  Pedrarias  is  said  to  have  gone  out  of  the  partnership 
voluntarily,  from  his  disgust  at  the  unpromising  state  of  affairs  : “ Vueltos  con  la  dicha 

gente  A Panama,  destrozados  y gastados  que  ya  no  tenian  haciendas  para  tornar  con  pro- 
visiones  y gentes  que  todo  lo  habian  gastado,  el  dicho  Pedrarias  de  Avila  les  dijo,  que  ya 
el  no  queria  mas  hacer  compania  con  ellos  en  los  gastos  de  la  armada,  que  si  ellos  querian 
volver  A su  costa,  que  lo  hiciesen  ; y ansi  como  gente  que  habia  perdido  todo  lo  que  tenia  y 
tanto  habia  trabajado,  acordaron  de  tornar  A proseguir  su  jornada  y dar  fin  a las  vidas  y 
haciendas  que  les  quedaba,  6 descubrir  aquella  tierra,  y ciertamente  ellos  tubieron  grande 
constancia  y animo.”  Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. 


chap,  hi.]  THE  FAMOUS  CONTRACT,  l8l 

long  as  to  render  himself  formidable  by  his  authority.3  It  had, 
moreover,  many  particular  causes  of  disgust  with  Pedrarias. 
The  functionary  sent  out  to  succeed  him  was  fortified  with 
ample  instructions  for  the  good  of  the  colony,  and  especially 
of  the  natives,  whose  religious  conversion  was  urged  as  a 
capital  object,  and  whose  personal  freedom  was  unequivocally 
asserted,  as  loyal  vassals  of  the  crown.  It  is  but  justice  to  the 
Spanish  government  to  admit  that  its  provisions  were  generally 
guided  by  a humane  and  considerate  policy,  which  was  as 
regularly  frustrated  by  the  cupidity  of  the  colonist  and  the 
capricious  cruelty  of  the  conqueror.  The  few  remaining 
years  of  Pedrarias  were  spent  in  petty  squabbles,  both  of  a 
personal  and  official  nature ; for  he  was  still  continued  in 
office,  though  in  one  of  less  consideration  than  that  which 
he  had  hitherto  filled.  He  survived  but  a few  years,  leav- 
ing behind  him  a reputation  not  to  be  envied,  of  one  who 
united  a pusillanimous  spirit  with  uncontrollable  passions,  but 
who  displayed,  notwithstanding,  a certain  energy  of  character, 
or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  an  impetuosity  of  purpose,  which 
might  have  led  to  good  results  had  it  taken  a right  direc- 
tion. Unfortunately,  his  lack  of  discretion  was  such  that  the 
direction  he  took  was  rarely  of  service  to  his  country  or  to 
himself. 

Having  settled  their  difficulties  with  the  governor,  and  ob- 
tained his  sanction  to  their  enterprise,  the  confederates  lost  no 
time  in  making  the  requisite  preparations  for  it.  Their  first 
step  was  to  execute  the  memorable  contract  which  served  as 
the  basis  of  their  future  arrangements  ; and,  as  Pizarro’s  name 
appears  in  this,  it  seems  probable  that  that  chief  had  crossed 
over  to  Panama  so  soon  as  the  favorable  disposition  of  Pedra- 

3 This  policy  is  noticed  by  the  sagacious  Martyr  : “ De  mutandis  namque  plaerisque 
gubernatoribus,  ne  longa  nimis  imperii  assuetudine  insolescant,  cogitatur,  qui  praecipue  non 
fuerint  prouinciarum  domitores,  de  hisce  ducibus  namque  alia  ratio  ponderatur.”  (De 
Orbe  Novo  (Parisiis,  1587),  p.  498.)  One  cannot  but  regret  that  the  philosopher  who  took 
so  keen  an  interest  in  the  successive  revelations  of  the  different  portions  of  the  New  World 
should  have  died  before  the  empire  of  the  Incas  was  disclosed  to  Europeans.  He  lived  to 
learn  and  to  record  the  wonders  of 

“ Rich  Mexico,  the  seat  of  Montezuma  ; 

Not  Cuzco  in  Peru,  the  richer  seat  of  Atabalipa.** 


182 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  II. 


rias  had  been  secured.4  The  instrument,  after  invoking  in  the 
most  solemn  manner  the  names  of  the  Holy  Trinity  and  Our 
Lady  the  Blessed  Virgin,  sets  forth  that  whereas  the  parties 
have  full  authority  to  discover  and  subdue  the  countries  and 
provinces  lying  south  of  the  Gulf,  belonging  to  the  empire  of 
Peru,  and  as  Fernando  de  Luque  had  advanced  the  funds  for 
the  enterprise  in  bars  of  gold  of  the  value  of  twenty  thousand 
pesos , they  mutually  bind  themselves  to  divide  equally  among 
them  the  whole  of  the  conquered  territory.  This  stipulation  is 
reiterated  over  and  over  again,  particularly  with  reference  to 
Luque,  who,  it  is  declared,  is  to  be  entitled  to  one-third  of  all 
lands,  repartimientos , treasures  of  every  kind,  gold,  silver,  and 
precious  stones — to  one-third  even  of  all  vassals,  rents,  and 
emoluments  arising  from  such  grants  as  may  be  conferred  by 
the  crown  on  either  of  his  military  associates,  to  be  held  for  his 
own  use,  or  for  that  of  his  heirs,  assigns,  or  legal  representa- 
tive. 

The  two  captains  solemnly  engage  to  devote  themselves  ex- 
clusively to  the  present  undertaking  until  it  is  accomplished ; 
and  in  case  of  failure  in  their  part  of  the  covenant  they  pledge 
themselves  to  reimburse  Luque  for  his  advances,  for  which  all 
the  property  they  possess  shall  be  held  responsible,  and  this 
declaration  is  to  be  a sufficient  warrant  for  the  execution  of 
judgment  against  them,  in  the  same  manner  as  if  it  had  pro- 
ceeded from  the  decree  of  a court  of  justice. 

The  commanders,  Pizarro  and  Almagro,  made  oath,  in  the 
name  of  God  and  the  Holy  Evangelists,  sacredly  to  keep  this 
covenant,  swearing  it  on  the  missal,  on  which  they  traced  with 
their  own  hands  the  sacred  emblem  of  the  cross.  To  give  still 
greater  efficacy  to  the  compact,  Father  Luque  administered  the 
sacrament  to  the  parties,  dividing  the  consecrated  wafer  into 
three  portions,  of  which  each  one  of  them  partook  ; while  the 
bystanders,  says  an  historian,  were  affected  to  tears  by  this 

4 In  opposition  to  most  authorities — but  not  to  the  judicious  Quintana— -I  have  conformed 
to  Montesinos,  in  placing  the  execution  of  the  contract  at  the  commencement  of  the  second, 
instead  of  the  first,  expedition.  This  arrangement  coincides  with  the  date  of  the  instru- 
ment itself,  which,  moreover,  is  reported  in  extenso  by  no  ancient  writer  whom  I have  con- 
sulted except  Montesinos. 


CHAP.  III.] 


THE  FA  MO  US  CONTRACT . 


183 


spectacle  of  the  solemn  ceremonial  with  which  these  men  vol- 
untarily devoted  themselves  to  a sacrifice  that  seemed  little 
short  of  insanity.5 

The  instrument,  which  was  dated  March  10th,  1526,  was  sub- 
scribed by  Luque,  and  attested  by  three  respectable  citizens  of 
Panama,  one  of  whom  signed  on  behalf  of  Pizarro,  and  the  other 
for  Almagro ; since  neither  of  these  parties,  according  to  the 
avowal  of  the  instrument,  was  able  to  subscribe  his  own  name.6 

Such  was  the  singular  compact  by  which  three  obscure  in- 
dividuals coolly  carved  out  and  partitioned  among  themselves 
an  empire  of  whose  extent,  power,  and  resources,  of  whose 
situation,  of  whose  existence  even,  they  had  no  sure  or  precise 
knowledge.  The  positive  and  unhesitating  manner  in  which 
they  speak  of  the  grandeur  of  this  empire,  of  its  stores  of 
wealth,  so  conformable  to  the  event,  but  of  which  they  could 
have  really  known  so  little,  forms  a striking  contrast  with  the 
general  scepticism  and  indifference  manifested  by  nearly  every 
other  person,  high  and  low,  in  the  community  of  Panama.7 

The  religious  tone  of  the  instrument  is  not  the  least  remark- 
able feature  in  it,  especially  when  we  contrast  this  with  the 
relentless  policy  pursued  by  the  very  men  who  were  parties  to 
it  in  their  conquest  of  the  country.  ‘ ‘In  the  name  of  the 
Prince  of  Peace,”  says  the  illustrious  historian  of  America, 
“they  ratified  a contract  of  which  plunder  and  bloodshed 
were  the  objects.  ” 8 The  reflection  seems  reasonable.  Yet,  in 
criticising  what  is  done,  as  well  as  what  is  written,  we  must 
take  into  account  the  spirit  of  the  times.9  The  invocation  of 

6 This  singular  instrument  is  given  at  length  by  Montesinos.  (Annales,  MS.,  ano  1526.) 
It  may  be  found  in  the  original  in  Appendix  No.  6. 

6 For  some  investigation  of  the  fact,  which  has  been  disputed  by  more  than  one,  of  Pizar- 
ro’s  ignorance  of  the  art  of  writing,  see  book  4,  chap.  5,  of  this  History. 

7 The  epithet  of  loco,  or  “ madman,”  was punningly  bestowed  on  Father  Luque,  for  his 
spirited  exertions  in  behalf  of  the  enterprise  : Padre  Luque  b loco , says  Oviedo  of  him,  as 
if  it  were  synonymous.  Historia  de  las  Indias  Islas  e Tierra  Firme  del  Mar  Oceano,  MS., 
Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  1. 

8 Robertson,  America,  vol.  iii.,  p.  5. 

9  “A  perfect  judge  will  read  each  work  of  wit 
With  the  same  spirit  that  its  author  writ,” 

says  the  great  bard  of  Reason.  A fair  criticism  will  apply  the  same  rule  to  action  as  to 
writing,  and,  in  the  moral  estimate  of  conduct,  will  take  largely  into  account  the  spirit  of 
the  age  which  prompted  it. 


1 84 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU . 


[BOOK  II. 


Heaven  was  natural,  where  the  object  of  the  undertaking  was 
in  part  a religious  one.  Religion  entered  more  or  less  into  the 
theory,  at  least,  of  the  Spanish  conquests  in  the  New  World. 
That  motives  of  a baser  sort  mingled  largely  with  these  higher 
ones,  and  in  different  proportions  according  to  the  character 
of  the  individual,  no  one  will  deny.  And  few  are  they  that 
have  proposed  to  themselves  a long  career  of  action  without 
the  intermixture  of  some  vulgar  personal  motive  — fame, 
honors,  or  emolument.  Yet  that  religion  furnishes  a key  to 
the  American  crusades,  however  rudely  they  may  have  been 
conducted,  is  evident  from  the  history  of  their  origin ; from 
the  sanction  openly  given  to  them  by  the  Head  of  the  Church ; 
from  the  throng  of  self-devoted  missionaries  who  followed  in 
the  track  of  the  conquerors  to  garner  up  the  rich  harvest  of 
souls ; from  the  reiterated  instructions  of  the  crown,  the  great 
object  of  which  was  the  conversion  of  the  natives ; from  those 
superstitious  acts  of  the  iron  - hearted  soldiery  themselves, 
which,  however  they  may  be  set  down  to  fanaticism,  were 
clearly  too  much  in  earnest  to  leave  any  ground  for  the 
charge  of  hypocrisy.  It  was  indeed  a fiery  cross  that  was 
borne  over  the  devoted  land,  scathing  and  consuming  it  in  its 
terrible  progress ; but  it  was  still  the  cross,  the  sign  of  man’s 
salvation,  the  only  sign  by  which  generations  and  generations 
yet  unborn  were  to  be  rescued  from  eternal  perdition. 

It  is  a remarkable  fact,  which  has  hitherto  escaped  the  no- 
tice of  the  historian,  that  Luque  was  not  the  real  party  to  this 
contract.  He  represented  another,  who  placed  in  his  hands 
the  funds  required  for  the  undertaking.  This  appears  from  an 
instrument  signed  by  Luque  himself  and  certified  before  the 
same  notary  that  prepared  the  original  contract.  The  instru- 
ment declares  that  the  whole  sum  of  twenty  thousand  pesos  ad- 
vanced for  the  expedition  was  furnished  by  the  Licentiate 
Gaspar  de  Espinosa,  then  at  Panama ; that  the  vicar  acted 
only  as  his  agent  and  by  his  authority ; and  that,  in  conse- 
quence, the  said  Espinosa  and  no  other  was  entitled  to  a third 
of  all  the  profits  and  acquisitions  resulting  from  the  conquest 
of  Peru.  This  instrument,  attested  by  three  persons,  one  of 


CHAP.  III.] 


SECOND  EXPEDITION. 


i8S 

them  the  same  who  had  witnessed  the  orignal  contract,  was 
dated  on  the  6th  of  August,  1531. 10  The  Licentiate  Espi- 
nosa was  a respectable  functionary,  who  had  filled  the  office 
of  principal  alcalde  in  Darien,  and  since  taken  a conspicuous 
part  in  the  conquest  and  settlement  of  Tierra  Firme.  He  en- 
joyed much  consideration  for  his  personal  character  and  sta- 
tion ; and  it  is  remarkable  that  so  little  should  be  known  of 
the  manner  in  which  the  covenant  so  solemnly  made  was  ex- 
ecuted in  reference  to  him.  As  in  the  case  of  Columbus,  it  is 
probable  that  the  unexpected  magnitude  of  the  results  was 
such  as  to  prevent  a faithful  adherence  to  the  original  stipula- 
tion ; and  yet,  from  the  same  consideration,  one  can  hardly 
doubt  that  the  twenty  thousand  pesos  of  the  bold  speculator 
must  have  brought  him  a magnificent  return.  Nor  did  the 
worthy  vicar  of  Panama,  as  the  history  will  show  hereafter,  go 
without  his  reward. 

Having  completed  these  preliminary  arrangements,  the  three 
associates  lost  no  time  in  making  preparations  for  the  voyage. 
Two  vessels  were  purchased,  larger  and  every  way  better  than 
those  employed  on  the  former  occasion.  Stores  were  laid 
in,  as  experience  dictated,  on  a larger  scale  than  before, 
and  proclamation  was  made  of  “ an  expedition  to  Peru.”  But 
the  call  was  not  readily  answered  by  the  sceptical  citizens  of 
Panama.  Of  nearly  two  hundred  men  who  had  embarked 
on  the  former  cruise,  not  more  than  three-fourths  now  re- 
mained.11 This  dismal  mortality,  and  the  emaciated,  poverty- 
stricken  aspect  of  the  survivors,  spoke  more  eloquently  than  the 
braggart  promises  and  magnificent  prospects  held  out  by  the 
adventurers.  Still,  there  were  men  in  the  community  of  such 
desperate  circumstances  that  any  change  seemed  like  a chance 

10  The  instrument  making  this  extraordinary  disclosure  is  cited  at  length  in  a manuscript 
entitled  Noticia  general  del  Peru,  Tierra  Firmt  y Chili,  by  Francisco  Lopez  de  Caravantes, 
a fiscal  officer  in  these  colonies.  The  MS.,  formerly  preserved  in  the  library  of  the 
great  college  of  Cuenca  at  Salamanca,  is  now  to  be  found  in  her  Majesty’s  library  at 
Madrid.  The  passage  is  extracted  by  Quintana,  Espanoles  celebres,  tom.  ii.  Apend.  No. 
2,  nota. 

11  “ Con  ciento  i diez  Hombres  salio  de  Panamd,  i fue  donde  estaba  el  Capitari  Pifarro 
con  otros  cinquenta  de  los  primeros  ciento  i diez,  que  con  el  salieron,  i de  los  setenta,  que 
el  Capitan  Almagro  llev<5,  quando  le  fue  a buscar,  que  los  ciento  i treinta  id  eran  muertos.’* 
Xeree,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.  p.  180. 


1 86  DISCOVERY  OF  PERU . [book  ii. 

of  bettering  their  condition.  Most  of  the  former  company  al* 
so,  strange  to  say,  felt  more  pleased  to  follow  up  the  advent- 
ure to  the  end  than  to  abandon  it  as  they  saw  the  light  of  a 
better  day  dawning  upon  them.  From  these  sources  the  two 
captains  succeeded  in  mustering  about  one  hundred  and  sixty 
men,  making  altogether  a very  inadequate  force  for  the  con- 
quest of  an  empire.  A few  horses  were  also  purchased,  and  a 
better  supply  of  ammunition  and  military  stores  than  before, 
though  still  on  a very  limited  scale.  Considering  their  funds, 
the  only  way  of  accounting  for  this  must  be  by  the  difficulty 
of  obtaining  supplies  at  Panama,  which,  recently  founded,  and 
on  the  remote  coast  of  the  Pacific,  could  be  approached  only 
by  crossing  the  rugged  barrier  of  mountains,  which  made  the 
transportation  of  bulky  articles  extremely  difficult.  Even  such 
scanty  stock  of  materials  as  it  possessed  was  probably  laid  un- 
der heavy  contribution,  at  the  present  juncture,  by  the  gov- 
ernor’s preparations  for  his  own  expedition  to  the  north. 

Thus  indifferently  provided,  the  two  captains,  each  in  his 
own  vessel,  again  took  their  departure  from  Panama,  under  the 
direction  of  Bartholomew  Ruiz,  a sagacious  and  resolute  pilot, 
well  experienced  in  the  navigation  of  the  Southern  Ocean. 
He  was  a native  of  Moguer,  in  Andalusia,  that  little  nursery  of 
nautical  enterprise  which  furnished  so  many  seamen  for  the 
first  voyages  of  Columbus.  Without  touching  at  the  interven- 
ing points  of  the  coast,  which  offered  no  attraction  to  the  voy- 
agers, they  stood  farther  out  to  sea,  steering  direct  for  the 
Rio  de  San  Juan,  the  utmost  limit  reached  by  Almagro.  The 
season  was  better  selected  than  on  the  former  occasion,  and 
they  were  borne  along  by  favorable  breezes  to  the  place  of  their 
destination,  which  they  reached  without  accident  in  a few 
days.  Entering  the  mouth  of  the  river,  they  saw  the  banks 
well  lined  with  Indian  habitations  ; and  Pizarro,  disembarking 
at  the  head  of  a party  of  soldiers,  succeeded  in  surprising  a small 
village  and  carrying  off  a considerable  booty  of  gold  ornaments 
found  in  the  dwellings,  together  with  a few  of  the  natives.12 


1 2 Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.  pp.  180,  181. — Naharro,  Relacion  sumaria, 
MS. — Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  lib.  i,  cap.  i. — Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  13. 


CHAP.  III.] 


RUIZ  EXPLORES  THE  COAST. 


1 87 


Flushed  with  their  success,  the  two  chiefs  were  confident 
that  the  sight  of  the  rich  spoil  so  speedily  obtained  could  not 
fail  to  draw  adventurers  to  their  standard  in  Panama ; and,  as 
they  felt  more  than  ever  the  necessity  of  a stronger  force  to 
cope  with  the  thickening  population  of  the  country  which  they 
were  now  to  penetrate,  it  was  decided  that  Almagro  should  re- 
turn with  the  treasure  and  beat  up  for  reinforcements,  while  the 
pilot  Ruiz,  in  the  other  vessel,  should  reconnoitre  the  country 
toward  the  south,  and  obtain  such  information  as  might  deter- 
mine their  future  movements.  Pizarro,  with  the  rest  of  the 
force,  would  remain  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  river,  as  he 
was  assured  by  the  Indian  prisoners  that  not  far  off  in  the  in- 
terior was  an  open  reach  of  country,  where  he  and  his  men 
could  find  comfortable  quarters.  This  arrangement  was  instant- 
ly put  in  execution.  We  will  first  accompany  the  intrepid 
pilot  in  his  cruise  toward  the  south. 

Coasting  along  the  great  continent,  with  his  canvas  still 
spread  to  favorable  winds,  the  first  place  at  which  Ruiz  cast 
anchor  was  off  the  little  island  of  Gallo,  about  two  degrees 
north.  The  inhabitants,  who  were  not  numerous,  were  pre- 
pared to  give  him  a hostile  reception ; for  tidings  of  the  in- 
vaders had  preceded  them  along  the  country,  and  even  reached 
this  insulated  spot.  As  the  object  of  Ruiz  was  to  explore,  not 
to  conquer,  he  did  not  care  to  entangle  himself  in  hostilities 
with  the  natives : so,  changing  his  purpose  of  landing,  he 
weighed  anchor,  and  ran  down  the  coast  as  far  as  what  is  now 
called  the  Bay  of  St.  Matthew.  The  country,  which,  as  he  ad- 
vanced, continued  to  exhibit  evidence  of  a better  culture  as  well 
as  of  a more  dense  population  than  the  parts  hitherto  seen,  was 
crowded,  along  the  shores,  with  spectators,  who  gave  no  signs 
of  fear  or  hostility.  They  stood  gazing  on  the  vessel  of  the 
white  men  as  it  glided  smoothly  into  the  crystal  waters  of  the 
bay,  fancying  it,  says  anjDld  writer,  some  mysterious  being  de- 
scended from  the  skies. 

Without  staying  long  enough  on  this  friendly  coast  to  un- 
deceive the  simple  people,  Ruiz,  standing  off  shore,  struck  out 
into  the  deep  sea ; but  he  had  not  sailed  far  in  that  direction 


1 88 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  II, 


when  he  was  surprised  by  the  sight  of  a vessel,  seeming  in  the 
distance  like  a_caravel  of  considerable  size,  traversed  by  a large 
sail  that  carried  it  sluggishly  over  the  waters.  The  old  navi- 
gator was  not  a little  perplexed  by  this  phenomenon,  as  he  was 
confident  no  European  bark  could  have  been  before  him  in 
these  latitudes,  and  no  Indian  nation  yet  discovered,  not  even 
the  civilized  Mexican,  was  acquainted  with  the  use  of  sails  in 
navigation.  As  he  drew  near,  he  found  it  was  a large  vessel, 
or  rather  raft,  called  balsa  by  the  natives,  consisting  of  a num- 
ber of  huge  timbers  of  a light,  porous  wood,  tightly  lashed  to- 
gether with  a frail  flooring  of  reeds  raised  on  them  by  way  of 
deck.  Two  masts  or  sturdy  poles,  erected  in  the  middle  of  the 
vessel,  sustained  a large  square  sail  of  cotton,  while  a rude  kind 
of  rudder  and  a movable  keel,  made  of  plank  inserted  between 
the  logs,  enabled  the  mariner  to  give  a direction  to  the  floating 
fabric,  which  held  on  its  course  without  the  aid  of  oar  or  pad- 
dle.13 The  simple  architecture  of  this  craft  was  sufficient  for  the 
purposes  of  the  natives,  and  indeed  has  continued  to  answer  them 
to  the  present  day  ; for  the  balsa , surmounted  by  small  thatched 
huts  or  cabins,  still  supplies  the  most  commodious  means  for  the 
transportation  of  passengers  and  luggage  on  the  streams  and 
along  the  shores  of  this  part  of  the  South  American  continent. 

0n  coming  alongside,  Ruiz  found  several  Indians,  both  men 
and  women,  on  board,  some  with  rich  ornaments  on  their  per- 
sons, besides  several  articles  wrought  with  considerable  skill  in 
gold  and  silver,  which  they  were  carrying  for  purposes  of 
traffic  to  the  different  places  along  the  coast.  But  what  most 
attracted  his  attention  was  the  woollen  cloth  of  which  some  of 
their  dresses  were  made.  It  was  of  a fine  texture,  delicately 
embroidered  with  figures  of  birds  and  flowers,  and  dyed  in 
brilliant  colors.  He  also  observed  in  the  boat  a pair  of  bal- 
ances made  to  weigh  the  precious  metals.14  His  astonishment 

13  “Traia  sus  man  teles  y antenas  de  muy  fina  madera  y velas  'de  algodon  del  mismo 
talle  de  manera  que  los  nuestros  navios.”  Relacion  de  los  primeros  Descubrimientos  de 
F.  Pizarro  y Diego  de  Almagro,  sacada  del  Codice  No.  120  de  la  Biblioteca  Imperial  de 
Vienna,  MS. 

14  In  a short  notice  of  this  expedition,  written  apparently  at  the  time  of  it,  or  soon  after, 
a minute  specification  is  given  of  the  several  articles  found  in  the  balsa  ; among  them  are 
mentioned  vases  and  mirrors  of  burnished  silver,  and  curious  fabrics  both  cotton  and  wool- 


CH . 1 1 1.  ] PIZA  RRO’S  S UFFERINGS  IN  THE  FORESTS.  1 89 


at  these  proofs  of  ingenuity  and  civilization,  so  much  higher 
than  anything  he  had  ever  seen  in  the  country,  was  heightened 
by  the  intelligence  which  he  collected  from  some  of  these  In- 
dians. Two  of  them  had  come  from  Tumbez,  a Peruvian  port, 
some  degrees  to  the  south ; and  they  gave  him  to  understand 
that  in  their  neighborhood  the  fields  were  covered  with  large 
flocks  of  the  animals  from  which  the  wool  was  obtained,  and  that 
gold  and  silver  were  almost  as  common  as  wood  in  the  palaces 
of  their  monarch.  The  Spaniards  listened  greedily  to  reports 
which  harmonized  so  well  with  their  fond  desires.  Though 
half  distrusting  the  exaggeration,  Ruiz  resolved  to  detain  some 
of  the  Indians,  including  the  natives  of  Tumbez,  that  they 
might  repeat  the  wondrous  tale  to  his  commander,  and  at  the 
same  time,  by  learning  the  Castilian,  might  hereafter  serve  as 
interpreters  with  their  countrymen.  The  rest  of  the  party  he 
suffered  to  proceed  without  further  interruption  on  their  voy- 
age. Then,  holding  on  his  course,  the  prudent  pilot,  without 
touching  at  any  other  point  of  the  coast,  advanced  as  far  as  the 
Punta  de  Pasado,  about  half  a degree  south,  having  the  glory 
of  being  the  first  European  who,  sailing  in  this  direction  on 
the  Pacific,  had  crossed  the  equinoctial  line.  This  was  the 
limit  of  his  discoveries ; on  reaching  which  he  tacked  about, 
and,  standing  away  to  the  north,  succeeded,  after  an  absence 
of  several  weeks,  in  regaining  the  spot  where  he  had  left  Pi- 
zarro  and  his  comrades.15 

It  was  high  time ; for  the  spirits  of  that  little  band  had  been 
sorely  tried  by  the  perils  they  had  encountered.  On  the  de- 
parture of  his  vessels,  Pizarro  marched  into  the  interior,  in  the 

len  : “ Espejos  guarnecidos  de  la  dicha  plata,  y tasas  y otras  vasijas  para  beber,  trahian 
muchas  mantas  de  lana  y de  algodon,  y camisas  y aljubas  y alcageres  y alaremes,  y otras 
muchas  ropas,  todo  lo  mas  de  ello  muy  labrado  de  labores  muy  ricas  de  colores  de  grana  y 
carmisi  y azul  y amarillo,  y de  todas  otras  colores  de  diversas  maneras  de  labores  y 
figuras  de  aves  y animales,  y Pescados,  y arbolesas  y trahian  unos  pesos  chiquitos  de  pesar 
oro  como  hechura  de  Romana,  y otras  muchas  cosas.”  Relacion  sacada  de  la  Biblioteca 
Imperial  de  Vienna,  MS. 

1#Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  181. — Relacion  sacada  dela  Biblioteca 
Imperial  de  Vienna,  MS. — Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  13. — One  of  the 
authorities  speaks  of  his  having  been  sixty  days  on  this  cruise.  I regret  not  to  be  able  to 
give  precise  dates  of  the  events  in  these  early  expeditions.  But  chronology  is  a thing  be- 
neath the  notice  of  these  ancient  chroniclers,  who  seem  to  think  that  the  date  of  events  so 
fresh  in  their  own  memory  must  be  so  in  that  of  everyone  else. 


190 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  II. 


hope  of  finding  the  pleasant  champaign  country  which  had 
been  promised  him  by  the  natives.  But  at  every  step  the  for- 
ests seemed  to  grow  denser  and  darker,  and  the  trees  towered  to 
a height  such  as  he  had  never  seen,  even  in  these  fruitful  re- 
gions, where  Nature  works  on  so  gigantic  a scale.16  Hill  con- 
tinued to  rise  above  hill,  as  he  advanced,  rolling  onward,  as  it 
were,  by  successive  waves  to  join  that  colossal  barrier  of  the 
Andes,  whose  frosty  sides,  far  away  above  the  clouds,  spread 
out  like  a curtain  of  burnished  silver,  that  seemed  to  connect 
the  heavens  with  the  earth. 

On  crossing  these  woody  eminences,  the  forlorn  adventurers 
would  plunge  into  ravines  of  frightful  depth,  where  the  exhala- 
tions of  a humid  soil  steamed  up  amid  the  incense  of  sweet- 
scented  flowers,  which  shone  through  the  deep  gloom  in  every 
conceivable  variety  of  color.  Birds,  especially  of  the  parrot 
tribe,  mocked  this  fantastic  variety  of  nature  with  tints  as  brill- 
iant as  those  of  the  vegetable  world.  Monkeys  chattered  in 
crowds  above  their  heads,  and  made  grimaces  like  the  fiend- 
ish spirits  of  these  solitudes ; while  hideous  reptiles,  engen- 
dered in  the  slimy  depths  of  the  pools,  gathered  round  the 
footsteps  of  the  wanderers.  Here  was  seen  the  gigantic  boa, 
coiling  his  unwieldy  folds  about  the  trees,  so  as  hardly  to  be 
distinguished  from  their  trunks,  till  he  was  ready  to  dart  upon 
his  prey ; and  alligators  lay  basking  on  the  borders  of  the 
streams,  or,  gliding  under  the  waters,  seized  their  incautious 
victim  before  he  was  aware  of  their  approach.17  Many  of  the 
Spaniards  perished  miserably  in  this  way,  and  others  were  way- 
laid by  the  natives,  who  kept  a jealous  eye  on  their  movements 
and  availed  themselves  of  every  opportunity  to  take  them  at 
advantage.  Fourteen  of  Pizarro’s  men  were  cut  off  at  once  in 
a canoe  which  had  stranded  on  the  bank  of  a stream.18 

Famine  came  in  addition  to  other  troubles,  and  it  was  with 
difficulty  that  they  found  the  means  of  sustaining  life  on  the 

16  “Todo  era  montanas,  con  arboles  hasta  el  cielo  ! ” Herrera,  Hist,  general,  ubi 
supra. 

17  Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 

19  Ibid,  loc.  cit. — Gomara,  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  cap.  108. — Naharro,  Relacion  sumaria, 
MS. 


chap,  iii.]  ARRIVAL  OF  NEW  RECRUITS . 191 

scanty  fare  of  the  forest — occasionally  the  potato,  as  it  grew 
without  cultivation,  or  the  wild  cocoanut,  or,  on  the  shore, 
the  salt  and  bitter  fruit  of  the  mangrove  ; though  the  shore  was 
less  tolerable  than  the  forest,  from  the  swarms  of  mosquitos 
which  compelled  the  wretched  adventurers  to  bury  their  bodies 
up  to  their  very  faces  in  the  sand.  In  this  extremity  of  suffer- 
ing, they  thought  only  of  return } and  all  schemes  of  avarice 
and  ambition — except  with  Pizarro  and  a few  dauntless  spirits 
— were  exchanged  for  the  one  craving  desire  to  return  to  Pan- 
ama. 

It  was  at  this  crisis  that  the  pilot  Ruiz  returned  with  the  re- 
port of  his  brilliant  discoveries ; and,  not  long  after,  Almagro 
sailed  into  port  with  his  vessel  laden  with  provisions  and  a con- 
siderable reinforcement  of  volunteers.  The  voyage  of  that 
commander  had  been  prosperous.  When  he  arrived  at  Panama, 
he  found  the  government  in  the  hands  of  Don  Pedro  de  los 
Rios ; and  he  came  to  anchor  in  the  harbor,  unwilling  to  trust 
himself  on  shore  till  he  had  obtained  from  Father  Luque  some 
account  of  the  dispositions  of  the  executive.  These  were  suffi- 
ciently favorable ; for  the  new  governor  had  particular  instruct 
tions  fully  to  carry  out  the  arrangements  made  by  his  prede* 
cessor  with  the  associates.  On  learning  Almagro’s  arrival,  he 
came  down  to  the  port  to  welcome  him,  professing  his  willing- 
ness to  afford  every  facility  for  the  execution  of  his  designs. 
Fortunately,  just  before  this  period  a small  body  of  military 
adventurers  had  come  to  Panama  from  the  mother-country, 
burning  with  desire  to  make  their  fortunes  in  the  New  World. 
They  caught  much  more  eagerly  than  the  old  and  wary  colo* 
nists  at  the  golden  bait  held  out  to  them ; and  with  their  addi* 
tion,  and  that  of  a few  supernumerary  stragglers  who  hung 
about  the  town,  Almagro  found  himself  at  the  head  of  a rein* 
forcement  of  at  least  eighty  men,  with  which,  having  laid  in 
a fresh  supply  of  stores,  he  again  set  sail  for  the  Rio  de  San 
Juan. 

The  arrival  of  the  new  recruits  all  eager  to  follow  up  the  ex- 
pedition, the  comfortable  change  in  their  circumstances  pro- 
duced by  an  ample  supply  of  provisions,  and  the  glowing  pict- 


192 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  II. 


ures  of  the  wealth  that  awaited  them  in  the  south,  all  had  their 
effect  on  the  dejected  spirits  of  Pizarro’s  followers.  Their  late 
toils  and  privations  were  speedily  forgotten,  and,  with  the 
buoyant  and  variable  feelings  incident  to  a freebooter’s  life, 
they  now  called  as  eagerly  on  their  commander  to  go  forward  in 
the  voyage  as  they  had  before  called  on  him  to  abandon  it. 
Availing  themselves  of  the  renewed  spirit  of  enterprise,  the 
captains  embarked  on  board  their  vessels,  and,  under  the  guid- 
ance of  the  veteran  pilot,  steered  in  the  same  track  he  had 
lately  pursued. 

But  the  favorable  season  for  a southern  course,  which  in 
these  latitudes  lasts  but  a few  months  in  the  year,  had  been 
suffered  to  escape.  The  breezes  blew  steadily  toward  the 
north,  and  a strong  current,  not  far  from  shore,  set  in  the  same 
direction.  The  winds  frequently  rose  into  tempests,  and  the 
unfortunate  voyagers  were  tossed  about,  for  many  days,  in  the 
boiling  surges,  amid  the  most  awful  storms  of  thunder  and 
lightning,  until  at  length  they  found  a secure  haven  in  the 
island  of  Gallo,  already  visited  by  Ruiz.  As  they  were  now 
too  strong  in  numbers  to  apprehend  an  assault,  the  crews  land- 
ed, and,  experiencing  no  molestation  from  the  natives,  they 
continued  on  the  island  for  a fortnight,  refitting  their  damaged 
vessels,  and  recruiting  themselves  after  the  fatigues  of  the 
ocean.  Then,  resuming  their  voyage,  the  captains  stood  tow- 
ard the  south  until  they  reached  the  bay  of  St.  Matthew.  As 
they  advanced  along  the  coast,  they  were  struck,  as  Ruiz  had 
been  before,  with  the  evidences  of  a higher  civilization  con- 
stantly exhibited  in  the  general  aspect  of  the  country  and  its 
inhabitants.  The  hand  of  cultivation  was  visible  in  every 
quarter.  The  natural  appearance  of  the  coast,  too,  had  some- 
thing in  it  more  inviting ; for  instead  of  the  eternal  labyrinth 
of  mangrove -trees,  with  their  complicated  roots  snarled  into 
formidable  coils  under  the  water,  as  if  to  waylay  and  entangle 
the  voyager,  the  low  margin  of  the  sea  was  covered  with  a 
stately  growth  of  ebony,  and  with  a species  of  mahogany,  and 
other  hard  woods  that  take  the  most  brilliant  and  variegated 
polish.  The  sandal-wood,  and  many  balsamic  trees  of  un- 


chap,  in.]  FRESH  DISCOVERIES  AND  DISASTERS.  I93 


known  names,  scattered  their  sweet  odors  far  and  wide,  not  in 
an  atmosphere  tainted  with  vegetable  corruption,  but  on  the 
pure  breezes  of  the  ocean,  bearing  health  as  well  as  fragrance 
on  their  wings.  Broad  patches  of  cultivated  land  intervened, 
disclosing  hill-sides  covered  with  the  yellow  maize  and  the  po- 
tato, or  checkered,  in  the  lower  levels,  with  blooming  planta- 
tions of  cacao.19 

The  villages  became  more  numerous ; and,  as  the  vessels  rode 
at  anchor  off  the  port  of  Tacamez,  the  Spaniards  saw  before 
them  a town  of  two  thousand  houses  or  more,  laid  out  into 
streets,  with  a numerous  population  clustering  around  it  in  the 
suburbs.20  The  men  and  women  displayed  many  ornaments 
of  gold  and  precious  stones  about  their  persons,  which  may 
seem  strange,  considering  that  the  Peruvian  Incas  claimed  a 
monopoly  of  jewels  for  themselves  and  the  nobles  on  whom 
they  condescended  to  bestow  them.  But,  although  the  Span- 
iards had  now  reached  the  outer  limits  of  the  Peruvian  empire, 
it  was  not  Peru,  but  Quito,  and  that  portion  of  it  but  recently 
brought  under  the  sceptre  of  the  Incas,  where  the  ancient 
usages  of  the  people  could  hardly  have  been  effaced  under  the 
oppressive  system  of  the  American  despots.  The  adjacent  coun- 
try was,  moreover,  particularly  rich  in  gold,  which,  collected 
from  the  washings  of  the  streams,  still  forms  one  of  the  staple 
products  of  Barbacoas.  Here,  too,  was  the  fair  River  of 
Emeralds,  so  called  from  the  quarries  of  the  beautiful  gem  on 
its  borders,  from  which  the  Indian  monarchs  enriched  their 
treasury.21 


19  Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii„  p.  181. — Relacion  sacada  de  la  Biblioteca 
Imperial  de  Vienna,  MS. — Naharro,  Relacion  sumaria,  MS. — Montesinos,  Annales, 
MS.,  ano  1526. — Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  lib.  1,  cap.  1. — Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. 

20  Pizarro’s  secretary  speaks  of  one  of  the  towns  as  containing  3,000  houses  : “ En  esta 
Tierra  havia  muchos  Mantenimientos,  i la  Gente  tenia  mui  buena  orden  de  vivir,  los  Pue- 
blos con  sus  Calles,  i Plagas  : Pueblo  havia  que  tenia  mas  de  tres  mil  Casas,  i otros  havia 
menores.”  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  181. 

21  Stevenson,  who  visited  this  part  of  the  coast  early  in  the  present  century,  is  profuse 
in  his  description  of  its  mineral  and  vegetable  treasures.  The  emerald  mine  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Las  Esmeraldas,  once  so  famous,  is  now  placed  under  the  ban  of  a superstition 
more  befitting  the  time  of  the  Incas.  “ f never  visited  it,”  says  the  traveller,  “ owing  to 
the  superstitious  dread  of  the  natives,  who  assured  me  that  it  was  enchanted,  and  guarded 
by  an  enormous  dragon,  which  poured  forth  thunder  and  lightning  on  those  who  dared  to 
aaceiwLthe  river.”  Residence  in  South  America,  vol.  ii.,  p.  406. 


194 


DISCOVERY  OF  PEE U. 


[book,  il 


The  Spaniards  gazed  with  delight  on  these  undeniable  evi- 
dences of  wealth,  and  saw  in  the  careful  cultivation  of  the  soil 
a comfortable  assurance  that  they  had  at  length  reached  the 
land  which  had  so  long  been  seen  in  brilliant,  though  distant, 
perspective  before  them.  But  here  again  they  were  doomed 
to  be  disappointed  by  the  warlike  spirit  of  the  people,  who, 
conscious  of  their  own  strength,  showed  no  disposition  to  quail 
before  the  invaders.  On  the  contrary,  several  of  their  canoes 
shot  out,  loaded  with  warriors,  who,  displaying  a gold  mask  as 
their  ensign,  hovered  round  the  vessels  with  looks  of  defiance, 
and,  when  pursued,  easily  took  shelter  under  the  lee  of  the 
land.22 

A more  formidable  body  mustered  along  the  shore,  to  the 
number,  according  to  the  Spanish  accounts,  of  at  least  ten 
thousand  warriors,  eager,  apparently,  to  come  to  close  action 
with  the  invaders.  Nor  could  Pizarro,  who  had  landed  with  a 
party  of  his  men  in  the  hope  of  a conference  with  the  natives, 
wholly  prevent  hostilities ; and  it  might  have  gone  hard  with 
the  Spaniards,  hotly  pressed  by  their  resolute  enemy  so  supe- 
rior in  numbers,  but  for  a ludicrous  accident  reported  by  the 
historians  as  happening  to  one  of  the  cavaliers.  This  was  a fall 
from  his  horse,  which  so  astonished  the  barbarians,  who  were 
not  prepared  for  this  division  of  what  seemed  one  and  the 
same  being  into  two,  that,  filled  with  consternation,  they  fell 
back,  and  left  a way  open  for  the  Christians  to  regain  their 
vessels  ! 23 

A council  of  war  was  now  called.  It  was  evident  that  the 

aa  “ Salieron  a los  dichos  navios  quatorce  canoas  grandes  con  muchos  Indios  dos  ar- 
mados  de  oro  y plata,  y trahian  en  la  una  canoa  6 en  estandarte  y encima  de  61  un  bolto 
de  un  mucho  desio  de  oro,  y dieron  una  suelta  d los  navios  por  avisarlos  en  manera  que  no 
los  pudiese  enojar,  y asi  dieron  vuelta  acia  d su  pueblo,  y los  navios  no  los  pudieron  tomar 
porque  se  metieron  en  los  baxos  junto  a la  tierra.”  Relacion  sacada  de  la  Biblioteca  Im- 
perial de  Vienna,  MS. 

23  “ A1  tiempo  del  romper  los  unos  con  los  otros,  uno  de  aquellos  de  caballo  cayo  del 
caballo  abajo ; y como  los  Indios  vieron  dividirse  aquel  animal  en  dos  partes,  teniendo  por 
cierto  que  todo  era  una  cosa,  fue  tanto  el  miedo  que  tubieron  que  volvieron  las  espaldas  dan- 
do  voces  d los  suyos,  diciendo,  que  se  habia  hecbo  dos  haciendo  admiracion  dello:  lo  cual  no 
fue  sin  misterio  ; porque  d no  acaecer  esto  se  presume,  que  mataran  todos  los  cristianos.” 
(Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS.)  This  way  of  accounting  for  the  panic  of  the  barbarians 
is  certainly  quite  as  credible  as  the  explanation,  under  similar  circumstances,  afforded  by  the 
apparition  of  the  militant  apostle  St.  James,  so  often  noticed  by  the  historians  of  these  wars. 


chap,  in.]  FRESH  DISCOVERIES  AND  DISASTERS.  I95 


forces  of  the  Spaniards  were  unequal  to  a contest  with  so 
numerous  and  well-appointed  a body  of  natives  ; and,  even  if 
they  should  prevail  here,  they  could  have  no  hope  of  stemming 
the  torrent  which  must  rise  against  them  in  their  progress — 
for  the  country  was  becoming  more  and  more  thickly  settled, 
and  towns  and  hamlets  started  into  view  at  every  new  head- 
land which  they  doubled.  It  was  better,  in  the  opinion  of 
some — the  faint-hearted — to  abandon  the  enterprise  at  once, 
as  beyond  their  strength.  But  Almagro  took  a different  view 
of  the  affair.  “ To  go  home,”  he  said,  “ with  nothing  done, 
would  be  ruin,  as  well  as  disgrace.  There  was  scarcely  one 
but  had  left  creditors  at  Panama,  who  looked  for  payment  to 
the  fruits  of  this  expedition.  To  go  home  now  would  be  to 
deliver  themselves  at  once  into  their  hands.  It  would  be 
to  go  to  prison.  Better  to  roam  a freeman,  though  in  the 
wilderness,  than  to  lie  bound  with  fetters  in  the  dungeons  of 
Panama.24  The  only  course  for  them,”  he  concluded,  “was 
the  one  lately  pursued.  Pizarro  might  find  some  more  com- 
modious place  where  he  could  remain  with  part  of  the  force, 
while  he  himself  went  back  for  recruits  to  Panama.  The  story 
they  had  now  to  tell  of  the  riches  of  the  land,  as  they  had 
seen  them  with  their  own  eyes,  would  put  their  expedition  in  a 
very  different  light,  and  could  not  fail  to  draw  to  their  banner 
as  many  volunteers  as  they  needed.” 

But  this  recommendation,  however  judicious,  was  not  al- 
together to  the  taste  of  the  latter  commander,  who  did  not 
relish  the  part,  which  constantly  fell  to  him,  of  remaining  be- 
hind in  the  swamps  and  forests  of  this  wild  country.  “ It  is 
all  very  well,”  he  said  to  Almagro,  “for  you,  who  pass  your 
time  pleasantly  enough,  careering  to  and  fro  in  your  vessel,  or 
snugly  sheltered  in  a land  of  plenty  at  Panama ; but  it  is  quite 
another  matter  for  those  who  stay  behind  to  droop  and  die  of 
hunger  in  the  wilderness.”  25  To  this  Almagro  retorted  with 

24  “ No  era  bien  bolver  pobres,  & pedir  limosna,  i morir  en  las  Carceles,  los  que  tenian 
deudas.”  Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  3,  lib.  10,  cap.  2. 

26  “ Como  iba,  i venia  en  los  Navios,  adonde  no  le  faltaba  Vitualla,  no  padecia  la  miseria 
de  la  hambre,  i otras  angustias  que  tenian,  i ponian  a todos  en  estrema  congoja.”  (Her- 
rera, Hist,  general,  dec.  3,  lib.  10,  cap.  2.)  The  cavaliers  of  Cortes  and  Pizzarro,  however 

Peru  9 Vol.  1 


196 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  II. 


some  heat,  professing  his  own  willingness  to  take  charge  of  the 
brave  men  who  would  remain  with  him,  if  Pizarro  declined  it. 
The  controversy  assuming  a more  angry  and  menacing  tone, 
from  words  they  would  have  soon  come  to  blows,  as  both,  lay- 
ing their  hands  on  their  swords,  were  preparing  to  rush  on  each 
other,  when  the  treasurer  Ribera,  aided  by  the  pilot  Ruiz,  suc- 
ceeded in  pacifying  them.  It  required  but  little  effort  on  the 
part  of  these  cooler  counsellors  to  convince  the  cavaliers  of  the 
folly  of  a conduct  which  must  at  once  terminate  the  expedition 
in  a manner  little  creditable  to  its  projectors.  A reconcilia- 
tion consequently  took  place,  sufficient,  at  least  in  outward 
show,  to  allow  the  two  commanders  to  act  together  in  concert. 
Almagro’s  plan  was  then  adopted  ; and  it  only  remained  to 
find  out  the  most  secure  and  convenient  spot  for  Pizarro’s 
quarters. 

Several  days  were  passed  in  touching  at  different  parts  of  the 
coast,  as  they  retraced  their  course ; but  everywhere  the 
natives  appeared  to  have  caught  the  alarm,  and  assumed  a 
menacing,  and  from  their  numbers  a formidable,  aspect.  The 
more  northerly  region,  with  its  unwholesome  fens  and  forests, 
where  nature  wages  a war  even  more  relentless  than  man,  was 
not  to  be  thought  of.  In  this  perplexity - they  decided  on  the 
little  island  of  Gallo,  as  being  on  the  whole,  from  its  distance 
from  the  shore,  and  from  the  scantiness  of  its  population,  the 
most  eligible  spot  for  them  in  their  forlorn  and  destitute  con- 
dition.26 

doughty  their  achievements,  certainly  fell  short  of  those  knights-errant,  commemorated  by 
Hudibras,  who, 

“ As  some  think, 

Of  old  did  neither  eat  nor  drink  ; 

Because,  when  thorough  deserts  vast 
And  regions  desolate  they  past, 

Unless  they  grazed,  there’s  not  one  word 
Of  their  provision  on  record  ; 

Which  made  some  confidently  write. 

They  had  no  stomachs  but  to  fight.” 

a®  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Relacion  sacada  de  la  Biblioteca  Imperial  de 
Vienna,  MS. — Naharro,  Relacion  sumaria,  MS. — Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  lib.  1,  cap.  1.— 
Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  3,  lib.  10,  cap.  2.  —It  was  singularly  unfortunate  that  Pizarro, 
instead  of  striking  farther  south,  should  have  so  long  clung  to  the  northern  shores  of  the 


DE  LA  GASCA,  VICEROY  OF  PERU 


PEDRO 


Peru , vol.  one. 


J 


chap,  hi.]  PIZARRO  ON  THE  ISLE  OF  GALLO. 


197 


But  no  sooner  was  the  resolution  of  the  two  captains  made 
known  than  a feeling  of  discontent  broke  forth  among  their  fol- 
lowers, especially  those  who  were  to  remain  with  Pizarro  on 
the  island.  “What!  ” they  exclaimed,  “were  they  to  be 
dragged  to  that  obscure  spot  to  die  by  hunger  ? The  whole 
expedition  had  been  a cheat  and  a failure,  from  beginning  to 
end.  The  golden  countries,  so  much  vaunted,  had  seemed  to 
fly  before  them  as  they  advanced ; and  the  little  gold  they  had 
been  fortunate  enough  to  glean  had  all  been  sent  back  to  Pan- 
ama to  entice  other  fools  to  follow  their  example.  What  had 
they  got  in  return  for  all  their  sufferings  ? The  only  treasures 
they  could  boast  were  their  bows  and  arrows,  and  they  were 
now  to  be  left  to  die  on  this  dreary  island,  without  so  much  as 
a rood  of  consecrated  ground  to  lay  their  bones  in  ! ” 27 

In  this  exasperated  state  of  feeling,  several  of  the  soldiers 
wrote  back  to  their  friends,  informing  them  of  their  deplorable 
condition,  and  complaining  of  the  cold-blooded  manner  in 
which  they  were  to  be  sacrificed  to  the  obstinate  cupidity  of 
their  leaders.  But  the  latter  were  wary  enough  to  anticipate 
this  movement,  and  Almagro  defeated  it  by  seizing  all  the 
letters  in  the  vessels  and  thus  cutting  off  at  once  the  means  of 
communication  with  their  friends  at  home.  Yet  this  act  of 
unscrupulous  violence,  like  most  other  similar  acts,  fell  short  of 
its  purpose ; for  a soldier  named  Sarabia  had  the  ingenuity  to 
evade  it  by  introducing  a letter  into  a ball  of  cotton,  which 
was  to  be  taken  to  Panama  as  a specimen  of  the  products  of 
the  country  and  presented  to  the  governor’s  lady.28 

The  letter,  which  was  signed  by  several  of  the  disaffected 
soldiery  besides  the  writer,  painted  in  gloomy  colors  the 
miseries  of  their  condition,  accused  the  two  commanders  of 

continent.  Dampier  notices  them  as  inflicted  with  incessant  rains  ; while  the  inhospitable 
forests  and  the  particularly  ferocious  character  of  the  natives  continued  to  make  these  re- 
gions but  little  known  down  to  his  time.  See  his  Voyages  and  Adventures  (London,  1776), 
vol.  i.,  chap.  14. 

27  “ Miserablemente  morir  adonde  aun  no  havia  lugar  Sagrado,  para  sepultura  de  sus 
cuerpos.”  Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  3.  lib.  10,  cap.  3. 

28  “ Metieron  en  un  ovillo  de  algodon  una  carta  firmada  de  muchos  en  que  sumaria- 
mente  daban  cuenta  de  las  hambres,  muertes  y desnudez  que  padecian,  y que  era  cosa  de 
risa  todo,  pues  las  riquezas  se  habian  convertido  en  flechas,  y no  havia  otra  cosa.”  Mon* 
tesinos,  Annales,  MS.,  ano  1527. 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  II. 


198 

being  the  authors  of  this,  and  called  on  the  authorities  at 
Panama  to  interfere  by  sending  a vessel  to  take  them  from  the 
desolate  spot  while  some  of  them  might  still  be  found  surviving 
the  horrors  of  their  confinement.  The  epistle  concluded  with 
a stanza,  in  which  the  two  leaders  were  stigmatized  as  partners 
in  a slaughter-house — one  being  employed  to  drive  in  the 
cattle  for  the  other  to  butcher.  The  verses,  which  had  a cur- 
rency in  their  day  among  the  colonists  to  which  they  were 
certainly  not  entitled  by  their  poetical  merits,  may  be  thus 
rendered  into  corresponding  doggerel  : 

1 ‘ Look  out,  Senor  Governor, 

For  the  drover  while  he’s  near  ; 

Since  he  goes  home  to  get  the  sheep 
For  the  butcher,  who  stays  here.”  99 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Indignation  of  the  Governor. — Stern  Resolution  of  Pizarro.— Prosecution 
of  the  Voyage. — Brilliant  Aspect  of  Tumbez. — Discoveries  along  the 
Coast. — Return  to  Panama. — Pizarro  embarks  for  Spain. 

1527-1528. 

Not  long  after  Almagro’s  departure,  Pizarro  sent  off  the  re- 
maining vessel,  under  the  pretext  of  its  being  put  in  repair  at 
Panama.  It  probably  relieved  him  of  a part  of  his  followers, 
whose  mutinous  spirit  made  them  an  obstacle  rather  than  a help 
in  his  forlorn  condition,  and  with  whom  he  was  the  more  will- 
ing to  part  from  the  difficulty  of  finding  subsistence  on  the 
barren  spot  which  he  now  occupied. 

28  Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  181. — Naharro,  Relacion  sumaria,  MS. 
— Balboa,  Hist,  du  PArou,  chap.  15. — “ A1  fin  de  la  peticion  que  hacian  en  la  carta  al  Go« 
vernador  puso  Juan  de  Sarabia,  natural  de  Trujillo,  esta  cuarteta  : 

Pues  Senor  Gobernador, 

Mlrelo  bien  por  entero 
que  alia  va  el  recogedor, 
y acd  queda  el  carnicero.” 

Montesinos,  Annales,  MS.,  ano  1527. 


chap,  iv.]  INDIGNATION  OF  THE  GOVERNOR. 


199 


Great  was  the  dismay  occasioned  by  the  return  of  Almagro 
and  his  followers  in  the  little  community  of  Panama ; for  the 
letter  surreptitiously  conveyed  in  the  ball  of  cotton  fell  into 
the  hands  for  which  it  was  intended,  and  the  contents  soon  got 
abroad,  with  the  usual  quantity  of  exaggeration.  The  hag- 
gard and  dejected  mien  of  the  adventurers,  of  itself,  told  a tale 
sufficiently  disheartening,  and  it  was  soon  generally  believed 
that  the  few  ill-fated  survivors  of  the  expedition  were  detained 
against  their  will  by  Pizarro,  to  end  their  days  with  their  dis- 
appointed leader  on  his  desolate  island. 

Pedro  de  ios  Rios,  the  governor,  was  so  much  incensed  at 
the  result  of  the  expedition,  and  the  waste  of  life  it  had  oc- 
casioned to  the  colony,  that  he  turned  a deaf  ear  to  all  the  ap- 
plications of  Luque  and  Almagro  for  further  countenance  in  the 
alfair ; he  derided  their  sanguine  anticipations  of  the  future, 
and  finally  resolved  to  send  an  officer  to  the  Isle  of  Gallo,  with 
orders  to  bring  back  every  Spaniard  whom  he  should  find  still 
living  in  that  dreary  abode.  Two  vessels  were  immediately 
despatched  for  the  purpose,  and  placed  under  charge  of  a cava- 
lier named  Tafur,  a native  of  Cordova. 

Meanwhile,  Pizarro  and  his  followers  were  experiencing  all 
the  miseries  which  might  have  been  expected  from  the  charac- 
ter of  the  barren  spot  on  which  they  were  imprisoned.  They 
were,  indeed,  relieved  from  all  apprehensions  of  the  natives, 
since  these  had  quitted  the  island  on  its  occupation  by  the 
white  men  ; but  they  had  to  endure  the  pains  of  hunger  even 
in  a greater  degree  than  they  had  formerly  experienced  in  the 
wild  woods  of  the  neighboring  continent.  Their  principal  food 
was  crabs  and  such  shell-fish  as  they  could  scantily  pick  up 
along  the  shores.  Incessant  storms  of  thunder  and  lightning, 
for  it  was  the  rainy  season,  swept  over  the  devoted  island  and 
drenched  them  with  a perpetual  flood.  Thus,  half  naked,  and 
pining  with  famine,  there  were  few  in  that  little  company  who 
did  not  feel  the  spirit  of  enterprise  quenched  within  them,  or 
who  looked  for  any  happier  termination  of  their  difficulties 
than  that  afforded  by  a return  to  Panama.  The  appearance  of 
Tafur,  therefore,  with  his  two  vessels,  well  stored  with  provis- 


200 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  u 


ions,  was  greeted  with  all  the  rapture  that  the  crew  of  a sink- 
ing wreck  might  feel  on  the  arrival  of  some  unexpected  succor  ; 
and  the  only  thought,  after  satisfying  the  immediate  cravings 
of  hunger,  was  to  embark  and  leave  the  detested  isle  forever. 

But  by  the  same  vessel  letters  came  to  -Pizarro  from  his  two 
confederates,  Luque  and  Almagro,  beseeching  him  not  to  de- 
spair in  his  present  extremity,  but  to  hold  fast  to  his  original 
purpose.  To  return  under  the  present  circumstances  would  be 
to  seal  the  fate  of  the  expedition  ; and  they  solemnly  engaged, 
if  he  would  remain  firm  at  his  post,  to  furnish  him  in  a short 
time  with  the  necessary  means  for  going  forward.1 

A ray  of  hope  was  enough  for  the  courageous  spirit  of  Pi- 
zarro. It  does  not  appear  that  he  himself  had  entertained,  at 
any  time,  thoughts  of  returning.  If  he  had,  these  words  of  en- 
couragement entirely  banished  them  from  his  bosom,  and  he 
prepared  to  stand  the  fortune  of  the  cast  on  which  he  had  so 
desperately  ventured.  He  knew,  however,  that  solicitations  or 
remonstrances  would  avail  little  with  the  companions  of  his  en- 
terprise ; and  he  probably  did  not  care  to  win  over  the  more 
timid  spirits  who,  by  perpetually  looking  back,  would  only  be 
a clog  on  his  future  movements.  He  announced  his  own  pur- 
pose, however,  in  a laconic  but  decided  manner,  characteristic 
of  a man  more  accustomed  to  act  than  to  talk,  and  well  calcu- 
lated to  make  an  impression  on  his  rough  followers. 

Drawing  his  sword,  he  traced  a line  with  it  on  the  sand  from 
east  to  west.  Then,  turning  toward  the  south,  “Friends  and 
comrades!”  he  said,  “on  that  side  are  toil,  hunger,  naked- 
ness, the  drenching  storm,  desertion,  and  death  ; on  this  side, 
ease  and  pleasure.  There  lies  Peru  with  its  riches ; here, 
Panama  and  its  poverty.  Choose,  each  man,  what  best  be- 
comes a brave  Castilian.  For  my  part,  I go  to  the  south.” 
So  saying,  he  stepped  across  the  line.2  He  was  followed  by 

1 Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barela,  tom.  iii. , p.  182. — Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  lib.  1,  cap. 
a. — Montesinos,  Annales,  MS.,  ano  1527. — Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  3,  lib.  10,  cap.  3. — 
Naharro,  Relacion  sumaria,  MS. 

2 “ Obedeciola  Pizarro  y antes  que  se  egecutase  saco  un  Punal,  y con  notable  animo  hizo 
con  la  punta  una  raya  de  Oriente  A Ponlente  ; y senalando  al  medio  dia,  que  era  la  parte 
de  su  noticia,  y derrotero  dijo  ; Camaradas  y amigos,  esta  parte  es  la  de  la  muerte,  de  los 

trabajos,  de  las  hambres,  de  la  desnudez,  de  los  aguaceros,  y desamparos ; la  otra  la  dei 


chap,  iv.]  STERN  RESOLUTION  OF  PIZARRO. 


201 


the  brave  pilot  Ruiz ; next  by  Pedro  de  Candia,  a cavalier, 
born,  as  his  name  imports,  in  one  of  the  isles  of  Greece. 
Eleven  others  successively  crossed  the  line,  thus  intimating 
their  willingness  to  abide  the  fortunes  of  their  leader,  for  good 
or  for  evil.3  Fame,  to  quote  the  enthusiastic  language  of  an 
ancient  chronicler,  has  commemorated  the  names  of  this  little 
band,  “ who  thus,  in  the  face  of  difficulties  unexampled  in  his- 
tory, with  death  rather  than  riches  for  their  reward,  preferred 
it  all  to  abandoning  their  honor,  and  stood  firm  by  their  leader 
as  an  example  of  loyalty  to  future  ages.  ’ ’ 4 

But  the  act  excited  no  such  admiration  in  the  mind  of  Tafur, 
who  looked  on  it  as  one  of  gross  disobedience  to  the  commands 
of  the  governor,  and  as  little  better  than  madness,  involving 
the  certain  destruction  of  the  parties  engaged  in  it.  He  re- 
fused to  give  any  sanction  to  it  himself  by  leaving  one  of  his 
vessels  with  the  adventurers  to  prosecute  their  voyage,  and  it 
was  with  great  difficulty  that  he  could  be  persuaded  even  to 
allow  them  a part  of  the  stores  which  he  had  brought  for  their 
support.  This  had  no  influence  on  their  determination,  and 
the  little  party,  bidding  adieu  to  their  returning  comrades,  re- 
mained unshaken  in  their  purpose  of  abiding  the  fortunes  of 
their  commander.5 

There  is  something  striking  to  the  imagination  in  the  spec- 
tacle of  these  few  brave  spirits  thus  consecrating  themselves  to 
a daring  enterprise,  which  seemed  as  far  above  their  strength 
as  any  recorded  in  the  fabulous  annals  of  knight-errantry.  A 

gusto  : Por  aquf  se  ba  a Panama  a ser  pobres,  por  alia  al  Peru  a ser  ricos.  Escoja  el  que 
fuere  buen  Castellano  lo  que  mas  bien  le  estubiere.  Diciendo  esto  paso  la  raya  : siguie- 
ronle  Barthome  Ruiz,  natural  de  Moguer,  Pedro  de  Candi  Griego,  natural  de  Candia.” 
Montesinos,  Annales,  MS.,  ano  1527. 

3 The  names  of  these  thirteen  faithful  companions  are  preserved  in  the  convention  made 
with  the  crown  two  years  later,  where  they  are  suitably  commemorated  for  their  loyalty. 
Their  names  should  not  be  omitted  in  a history  of  the  Conquest  of  Peru.  They  were 
“ Bartolom6  Ruiz,  Cristoval  de  Peralta,  Pedro  de  Candia,  Domingo  de  Soria  Luce, 
Nicolas  de  Ribera,  Francisco  de  Cuellar,  Alonso  de  Molina,  Pedro  Alcon,  Garcia  de  Jerez, 
Anton  de  Carrion,  Alonso  Briceno,  Martin  de  Paz,  Joan  de  la  Torre.” 

4 “ Estos  fueron  los  trece  de  la  fama.  Estos  los  que  cercados  de  los  mayores  trabajos 
que  pudo  el  Mundo  ofrecer  d hombres,  y los  que  eslando  mas  para  esperar  la  muerte  que 
las  rfquezas  que  se  les  prometian,  todo  lo  pospusieron  a la  honra,  y siguieron  a su  capitan 
y caudillo  para  egemplo  de  lealtad  en  lo  futuro.”  Montesinos,  Annales,  MS.,  ano  1527. 

6 Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  lib.  1,  cap.  2. — Montesinos,  Annales,  MS.,  ano  1527. — Naharro, 
Relation  sumaria,  MS. — Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  3,  iib.  10,  cap.  3. 


202 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  IL 


handful  of  men,  without  food,  without  clothing,  almost  without 
arms,  without  knowledge  of  the  land  to  which  they  were 
bound,  without  vessel  to  transport  them,  were  here  left  on  a 
lonely  rock  in  the  ocean  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  carrying 
on  a crusade  against  a powerful  empire,  staking  their  lives  on 
its  success.  What  is  there  in  the  legends  of  chivalry  that  sur- 
passes it  ? This  was  the  crisis  of  Pizarro’s  fate.  There  are 
moments  in  the  lives  of  men,  which,  as  they  are  seized  or  neg- 
lected, decide  their  future  destiny*6  Had  Pizarro  faltered 
from  his  strong  purpose,  and  yielded  to  the  occasion,  now  so 
temptingly  presented,  for  extricating  himself  and  his  broken 
band  from  their  desperate  position,  his  name  would  have 
been  buried  with  his  fortunes,  and  the  conquest  of  Peru  would 
have  been  left  for  other  and  more  successful  adventurers.  But 
his  constancy  was  equal  to  the  occasion,  and  his  conduct  here 
proved  him  competent  to  the  perilous  post  he  had  assumed, 
and  inspired  others  with  a confidence  in  him  which  was  the 
best  assurance  of  success. 

In  the  vessel  that  bore  back  Tafur  and  those  who  seceded 
from  the  expedition  the  pilot  Rui/ was  also  permitted  to  return, 
in  order  to  co-operate  with  Luque  and  Almagro  in  their  appli- 
cation for  further  succor. 

Not  long  after  the  departure  of  the  ships,  it  was  decided  by 
Pizarro  to  abandon  his  present  quarters,  which  had  little  to 
recommend  them,  and  which,  he  reflected,  might  now  be  ex- 
posed to  annoyance  from  the  original  inhabitants,  should  they 
take  courage  and  return  on  learning  the  diminished  number  of 
the  white  men.  The  Spaniards,  therefore,  by  his  orders,  con- 

6 This  common  sentiment  is  expressed  with  uncommon  beauty  by  the  fanciful  Boiardo, 
where  he  represents  Rinaldo  as  catching  Fortune,  under  the  guise  of  the  fickle  fairy  Mor- 
gana, by  the  forelock.  The  Italian  reader  may  not  be  displeased  to  refresh  his  memory 
with  it : 

“ Chi  cerca  in  questo  mondo  aver  tesoro, 

O diletto,  e piacere,  honore,  e stato, 

Ponga  la  mano  a questa  chioma  d’  oro, 

Ch’  io  porto  in  fronte,  e lo  farb  beato  ; 

Ma  quando  ha  in  destro  si  fatto  lavoro 
Non  prenda  indugio,  che  ’1  tempo  passato 
Perduto  h tutto,  e non  ritorna  mai, 

Ed  io  mi  volto,  e lui  lascio  con  guai.” 

— Orlando  Innamorata,  lib.  a,  canto  8. 


chap,  iv.]  STERN  RESOLUTION  OF  PIZARRO. 


203 


structed  a rude  boat  or  raft,  on  which  they  succeeded  in  trans- 
porting themselves  to  the  little  island  of  Gorgona,  twenty-five 
leagues  to  the  north  of  their  present  residence.  It  lay  about 
five  leagues  from  the  continent,  and  was  uninhabited.  It  had 
some  advantages  over  the  isle  of  Gallo ; for  it  stood  higher 
above  the  sea  and  was  partially  covered  with  wood,  which  af- 
forded shelter  to  a species  of  pheasant,  and  the  hare  or  rabbit 
of  the  country,  so  that  the  Spaniards,  with  their  cross-bows, 
were  enabled  to  procure  a tolerable  supply  of  game.  Cool 
streams  that  issued  from  the  living  rock  furnished  abundance 
of  water,  though  the  drenching  rains  that  fell  without  inter- 
mission left  them  in  no  danger  of  perishing  by  thirst.  From 
this  annoyance  they  found  some  protection  in  the  rude  huts 
which  they  constructed ; though  here,  as  in  their  former  resi- 
dence, they  suffered  from  the  no  less  intolerable  annoyance  of 
venomous  insects,  which  multiplied  and  swarmed  in  the  ex- 
halations of  the  rank  and  stimulated  soil.  In  this  dreary  abode 
Pizarro  omitted  no  means  by  which  to  sustain  the  drooping 
spirits  of  his  men.  Morning  prayers  were  duly  said,  and  the 
evening  hymn  to  the  Virgin  was  regularly  chanted ; the  festi- 
vals of  the  Church  were  carefully  commemorated,  and  every 
means  taken  by  their  commander  to  give  a kind  of  religious 
character  to  his  enterprise,  and  to  inspire  his  rough  followers 
with  a confidence,  in  the  protection  of  Heaven,  that  might 
support  them  in  their  perilous  circumstances.7 

In  these  uncomfortable  quarters,  their  chief  employment 
was  to  keep  watch  on  the  melancholy  ocean,  that  they  might 
hail  the  first  signal  of  the  anticipated  succor.  But  many  a 
tedious  month  passed  away,  and  no  sign  of  it  appeared.  All 
around  was  the  same  wide  waste  of  waters,  except  to  the  east- 
ward, where  the  frozen  crest  of  the  Andes,  touched  with  the 
ardent  sun  of  the  equator,  glowed  like  a ridge  of  fire  along  the 
whole  extent  of  the  great  continent.  Every  speck  in  the  dis- 
tant horizon  was  carefully  noticed,  and  the  drifting  timber  or 

7 “ C&da  Manana  daban  gracias  k Dios  : k las  tardes  decian  la  Salve,  i otras  Oraeiones, 
por  las  Horas  : sabian  las  Fiestas,  i tenian  cuenta  con  los  Viemes,  i Domingos.”  Her- 
rera, Hist,  general,  dec.  3,  lib.  10,  cap.  3. 


204 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  II. 


masses  of  sea- weed,  heaving  to  and  fro  on  the  bosom  of  the 
waters,  was  converted  by  their  imaginations  into  the  promised 
vessel;  till,  sinking  under  successive  disappointments,  hope 
gradually  gave  way  to  doubt,  and  doubt  settled  into  despair.8 

Meanwhile  the  vessel  of  Tafur  had  reached  the  port  of  Pan- 
ama. The  tidings  which  she  brought  of  the  inflexible  ob- 
stinacy of  Pizarro  and  his  followers  filled  the  governor  with  in- 
dignation. He  could  look  on  it  in  no  other  light  than  as  an 
act  of  suicide,  and  steadily  refused  to  send  further  assistance  to 
men  who  were  obstinately  bent  on  their  own  destruction.  Yet 
Luque  and  Almagro  were  true  to  their  engagements.  They 
represented  to  the  governor  that,  if  the  conduct  of  their  com- 
rade was  rash,  it  was  at  least  in  the  service  of  the  crown  and 
in  prosecuting  the  great  work  of  discovery.  Rios  had  been 
instructed,  on  his  taking  the  government,  to  aid  Pizarro  in  the 
enterprise ; and  to  desert  him  now  would  be  to  throw  away 
the  remaining  chance  of  success,  and  to  incur  the  responsibility 
of  his  death  and  that  of  the  brave  men  who  adhered  to  him. 
These  remonstrances,  at  length,  so  far  operated  on  the  mind  of 
that  functionary  that  he  reluctantly  consented  that  a vessel 
should  be  sent  to  the  island  of  Gorgona,  but  with  no  more 
hands  than  were  necessary  to  work  her,  and  with  positive  in- 
structions to  Pizarro  to  return  in  six  months  and  report  him- 
self at  Panama,  whatever  might  be  the  future  results  of  his  ex- 
pedition. 

Having  thus  secured  the  sanction  of  the  executive,  the  two 
associates  lost  no  time  in  fitting  out  a small  vessel  with  stores 
and  a supply  of  arms  and  ammunition,  and  despatched  it  to 
the  island.  The  unfortunate  tenants  of  this  little  wilderness, 
who  had  now  occupied  it  for  seven  months,9  hardly  dared  to 
trust  their  senses  when  they  descried  the  white  sails  of  the 
friendly  bark  coming  over  the  waters.  And  although,  when 
the  vessel  anchored  off  the  shore,  Pizarro  was  disappointed  to 

8 “ A1  cabo  de  muchos  Dias  aguardando,  estaban  tan  angustiardos,  que  los  salages,  que 
se  hacian  bien  dentro  de  la  Mar,  lee  parecia,  que  era  el  Navio.”  Herrera,  Hist,  general, 
dec.  3,  lib.  io,  cap.  4. 

9 “ Estubieron  con  estos  trabajos  con  igualdad  de  animo  siete  meses.”  MontesinOi, 
Annales,  MS.,  afio  1527. 


chap,  iv.]  PROSECUTION  OF  THE  VOYAGE. 


205 


find  that  it  brought  no  additional  recruits  for  the  enterprise,  yet 
he  greeted  it  with  joy,  as  affording  the  means  of  solving  the  great 
problem  of  the  existence  of  the  rich  southern  empire,  and  of 
thus  opening  the  way  for  its  future  conquest.  Two  of  his  men 
were  so  ill  that  it  was  determined  to  leave  them  in  the  care  of 
some  of  the  friendly  Indians  who  had  continued  with  him 
through  the  whole  of  his  sojourn,  and  to  call  for  them  on  his 
return.  Taking  with  him  the  rest  of  his  hardy  followers  and 
the  natives  of  Tumbez,  he  embarked,  and,  speedily  weighing 
anchor,  bade  adieu  to  the  “Hell,”  as  it  was  called  by  the 
Spaniards,  which  had  been  the  scene  of  so  much  suffering  and 
such  undaunted  resolution.10 

Every  heart  was  now  elated  with  hope,  as  they  found  them- 
selves once  more  on  the  waters,  under  the  guidance  of  the  good 
pilot  Ruiz,  who,  obeying  the  directions  of  the  Indians,  pro- 
posed to  steer  for  the  land  of  Tumbez,  which  would  bring 
them  at  once  into  the  golden  empire  of  the  Incas — the  El 
Dorado  of  which  they  had  been  so  long  in  pursuit.  Passing  by 
the  dreary  isle  of  Gallo,  which  they  had  such  good  cause  to  re- 
member, they  stood  farther  out  to  sea  until  they  made  Point 
Tacumez,  near  which  they  had  landed  on  their  previous  voy- 
age. They  did  not  touch  at  any  part  of  the  coast,  but  steadily 
held  on  their  way,  though  considerably  impeded  by  the  currents, 
as  well  as  by  the  wind,  which  blew  with  little  variation  from  the 
south.  Fortunately,  the  wind  was  light,  and,  as  the  weather 
was  favorable,  their  voyage,  though  slow,  was  not  uncomforta- 
ble. In  a few  days  they  came  in  sight  of  Point  Pasado,  the 
limit  of  the  pilot’s  former  navigation ; and,  crossing  the  line, 
the  little  bark  entered  upon  those  unknown  seas  which  had 
never  been  ploughed  by  European  keel  before.  The  coast, 
they  observed,  gradually  declined  from  its  former  bold  and 
rugged  character,  gently  sloping  toward  the  shore,  and  spread- 
ing out  into  sandy  plains,  relieved  here  and  there  by  patches 
of  uncommon  richness  and  beauty ; while  the  white  cottages 

10  Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  182.— Montesinos,  Annales,  MS.,  afio 
1527. — Naharro,  Relacion  sumaria,  MS. — Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  3,  lib,  10,  cap.  4.— 
Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 


206 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  II. 


of  the  natives  glistening  along  the  margin  of  the  sea,  and  the 
smoke  that  rose  among  the  distant  hills,  intimated  the  increas- 
ing population  of  the  country. 

At  length,  after  the  lapse  of  twenty  days  from  their  depart- 
ure from  the  island,  the  adventurous  vessel  rounded  the  point 
of  St.  Helena  and  glided  smoothly  into  the  waters  of  the  beau- 
tiful gulf  of  Guayaquil.  The  country  was  here  studded  along 
the  shore  with  towns  and  villages,  though  the  mighty  chain  of 
the  Cordilleras,  sweeping  up  abruptly  from  the  coast,  left  but 
a narrow  strip  of  emerald  verdure,  through  which  numerous 
rivulets,  spreading  fertility  around  them,  wound  their  way  to 
the  sea. 

The  voyagers  were  now  abreast  of  some  of  the  most  stupen- 
dous heights  of  this  magnificent  range : Chimborazo,  with  its 
broad  round  summit,  towering  like  the  dome  of  the  Andes, 
and  Cotopaxi,  with  its  dazzling  cone  of  silvery  white,  that 
knows  no  change,  except  from  the  action  of  its  own  volcanic 
fires ; for  this  mountain  is  the  most  terrible  of  the  American 
volcanoes,  and  was  in  formidable  activity  at  no  great  distance 
from  the  period  of  our  narrative.  Well  pleased  with  the  signs 
of  civilization  that  opened  on  them  at  every  league  of  their 
progress,  the  Spaniards  at  length  came  to  anchor  off  the  island 
of  Santa  Clara,  lying  at  the  entrance  of  the  bay  of  Tumbez.11 

The  place  was  uninhabited,  but  was  recognized  by  the  In- 
dians on  board  as  occasionally  resorted  to  by  the  warlike  peo- 
ple of  the  neighboring  island  of  Puna  for  purposes  of  sacrifice 
and  worship.  The  Spaniards  found  on  the  spot  a few  bits  of 
gold  rudely  wrought  into  various  shapes,  and  probably  de- 
signed as  offerings  to  the  Indian  deity.  Their  hearts  were 
cheered,  as  the  natives  assured  them  they  would  see  abundance 
of  the  same  precious  metal  in  their  own  city  of  Tumbez. 

The  following  morning  they  stood  across  the  bay  for  this 
place.  As  they  drew  near,  they  beheld  a town  of  considerable 

11  According  to  Garcilasso,  two  years  elapsed  between  the  departure  from  Gorgona  and 
the  arrival  at  Tumbez.  (Com.  Real.,  Parte  2,  lib.  1,  cap.  11.)  Such  gross  defiance  of 
chronology  is  rather  uncommon  even  in  the  narratives  of  these  transactions,  where  it  is  as 
difficult  to  fix  a precise  date,  amidst  the  silence,  rather  than  the  contradictions,  of  contem- 
porary statements,  as  if  the  events  had  happened  before  the  deluge. 


chap,  iv.]  BRILLIANT  ASPECT  OF  TUMBEZ. 


20  7 


size,  with  many  of  the  buildings  apparently  of  stone  and  plas- 
ter, situated  in  the  bosom  of  a fruitful  meadow,  which  seemed 
to  have  been  redeemed  from  the  sterility  of  the  surrounding 
country  by  careful  and  minute  irrigation.  When  at  some  dis- 
tance from  shore,  Pizarro  saw  standing  toward  him  several 
large  balsas,  which  were  found  to  be  filled  with  warriors  going 
on  an  expedition  against  the  island  of  Puna.  Running  along- 
side of  the  Indian  flotilla,  he  invited  some  of  the  chiefs  to 
come  on  board  of  his  vessel.  The  Peruvians  gazed  with  won- 
der on  every  object  which  met  their  eyes,  and  especially  on 
their  own  countrymen,  whom  they  had  little  expected  to  meet 
there.  The  latter  informed  them  in  what  manner  they  had 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  strangers,  whom  they  described  as 
a wonderful  race  of  beings,  that  had  come  thither  for  no  harm, 
but  solely  to  be  made  acquainted  with  the  country  and  its 
inhabitants.  This  account  was  confirmed  by  the  Spanish 
commander,  who  persuaded  the  Indians  to  return  in  their 
balsas  and  report  what  they  had  learned  to  their  townsmen, 
requesting  them  at  the  same  time  to  provide  his  vessel  with  re- 
freshments, as  it  was  his  desire  to  enter  into  friendly  inter- 
course with  the  natives. 

The  people  of  Tumbez  were  gathered  along  the  shore,  and 
were  gazing  with  unutterable  amazement  on  the  floating 
castle,  which,  now  having  dropped  anchor,  rode  lazily  at  its 
moorings  in  their  bay.  They  eagerly  listened  to  the  accounts 
of  their  countrymen,  and  instantly  reported  the  affair  to  the 
curaca  or  ruler  of  the  district,  who,  conceiving  that  the 
strangers  must  be  beings  of  a superior  order,  prepared  at  once 
to  comply  with  their  request.  It  was  not  long  before  several 
balsas  were  seen  steering  for  the  vessel,  laden  with  bananas, 
plantains,  yuca,  Indian  corn,  sweet  potatoes,  pine-apples, 
cocoanuts,  and  other  rich  products  of  the  bountiful  vale  of 
Tumbez.  Game  and  fish,  also,  were  added,  with  a number  of 
llamas,  of  which  Pizarro  had  seen  the  rude  drawings  belonging 
to  Balboa,  but  of  which  till  now  he  had  met  with  no  living 
specimen.  He  examined  this  curious  animal,  the  Peruvian 
sheep — or,  as  the  Spaniards  called  it,  the  “little  camel”  of 


208 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[book  it 


the  Indians — with  much  interest,  greatly  admiring  the  mixt- 
ure of  wool  and  hair  which  supplied  the  natives  with  the 
materials  for  their  fabrics. 

At  that  time  there  happened  to  be  at  Tumbez  an  Inca  noble, 
or  orejon — for  so,  as  I have  already  noticed,  men  of  his  rank 
were  called  by  the  Spaniards,  from  the  huge  ornaments  of 
gold  attached  to  their  ears.  He  expressed  great  curiosity  to 
see  the  wonderful  strangers,  and  had,  accordingly,  come  out 
with  the  balsas  for  the  purpose.  It  was  easy  to  perceive  from 
the  superior  quality  of  his  dress,  as  well  as  from  the  deference 
paid  to  him  by  the  others,  that  he  was  a person  of  considera- 
tion ; and  Pizarro  received  him  with  marked  distinction.  He 
showed  him  the  different  parts  of  the  ship,  explaining  to  him 
the  uses  of  whatever  engaged  his  attention,  and  answering  his 
numerous  queries,  as  well  as  he  could,  by  means  of*the  Indian 
interpreters.  The  Peruvian  chief  was  especially  desirous  of 
knowing  whence  and  why  Pizarro  and  his  followers  had  come 
to  these  shores.  The  Spanish  captain  replied  that  he  was  the 
vassal  of  a great  prince,  the  greatest  and  most  powerful  in  the 
world,  and  that  he  had  come  to  this  country  to  assert  his 
master’s  lawful  supremacy  over  it.  He  had  further  come  to 
rescue  the  inhabitants  from  the  darkness  of  unbelief  in  which 
they  were  now  wandering.  They  worshipped  an  evil  spirit, 
who  would  sink  their  souls  into  everlasting  perdition  ; and  he 
would  give  them  the  knowledge  of  the  true  and  only  God, 
Jesus  Christ,  since  to  believe  in  Him  was  eternal  salvation.12 

The  Indian  prince  listened  with  deep  attention  and  apparent 
wonder,  but  answered  nothing.  It  may  be  that  neither  he  nor 
his  interpreters  had  any  very  distinct  ideas  of  the  doctrines 
thus  abruptly  revealed  to  them.  It  may  be  that  he  did  not 
believe  there  was  any  other  potentate  on  earth  greater  than  the 
Inca ; none,  at  least,  who  had  a better  right  to  rule  over  his 
dominions.  And  it  is  very  possible  he  was  not  disposed  to 
admit  that  the  great  luminary  whom  he  worshipped  was  in- 

18  The  text  abridges  somewhat  the  discourse  of  the  military  polemic  ; which  is  reported 
at  length  by  Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  3,  lib.  10,  cap.  4. — See  also  Montesinos,  Annales, 
MS.,  ano  1527.— Conq.  i Pob.  del  Pirn,  MS. — Naharro,  Relation  sumaria,  MS.— Relation 
del  primer  Descub.,  MS. 


chap,  iv.]  BRILLIANT  ASPECT  OF  TUMBEZ. 


209 


ferior  to  the  God  of  the  Spaniards.  But  whatever  may  have 
passed  in  the  untutored  mind  of  the  barbarian,  he  did  not  give 
vent  to  it,  but  maintained  a discreet  silence,  without  any  at- 
tempt to  controvert  or  to  convince  his  Christian  antagonist. 

He  remained  on  board  the  vessel  till  the  hour  of  dinner,  of 
which  he  partook  with  the  Spaniards,  expressing  his  satisfaction 
at  the  strange  dishes,  and  especially  pleased  with  the  wine, 
which  he  pronounced  far  superior  to  the  fermented  liquors  of 
his  own  country.  On  taking  leave,  he  courteously  pressed  the 
Spaniards  to  visit  Tumbez,  and  Pizarro  dismissed  him  with  the 
present,  among  other  things,  of  an  iron  hatchet,  which  had 
greatly  excited  his  admiration ; for  the  use  of  iron,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  as  little  known  to  the  Peruvians  as  to  the  Mexicans. 

On  the  day  following,  the  Spanish  captain  sent  one  of  his 
own  men,  named  Alonso  de  Molina,  on  shore,  accompanied  by 
a negro  who  had  come  in  the  vessel  from  Panama,  together 
with  a present  for  the  curaca  of  some  swine  and  poultry, 
neither  of  which  were  indigenous  to  the  New  World.  Toward 
evening  his  emissary  returned  with  a fresh  supply  of  fruits  and 
vegetables,  that  the  friendly  people  sent  to  the  vessel.  Molina 
had  a wondrous  tale  to  tell.  On  landing,  he  was  surrounded 
by  the  natives,  who  expressed  the  greatest  astonishment  at  his 
dress,  his  fair  complexion,  and  his  long  beard.  The  women, 
especially,  manifested  great  curiosity  in  respect  to  him,  and 
Molina  seemed  to  be  entirely  won  by  their  charms  and  capti- 
vating manners.  He  probably  intimated  his  satisfaction  by 
his  demeanor,  since  they  urged  him  to  stay  among  them, 
promising  in  that  case  to  provide  him  with  a beautiful  wife. 

Their  surprise  was  equally  great  at  the  complexion  of  his 
sable  companion.  They  could  not  believe  it  was  natural,  and 
tried  to  rub  off  the  imaginary  dye  with  their  hands.  As  the 
African  bore  all  this  with  characteristic  good  humor,  display- 
ing at  the  same  time  his  rows  of  ivory  teeth,  they  were  pro- 
digiously delighted.13  The  animals  were  no  less  above  their 

13  “ No  se  cansaban  de  mirarle,  hacianle  labar,  para  ver  si  se  le  quitaba  laTinta  negra,  i 
el  lo  hacia  de  buena  gana,  riendose,  i mostrando  sus  Dientes  blancos.”  Herrera,  Hist 
general,  dec.  3,  lib.  10,  cap.  5. 


210 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[book  ir. 


comprehension ; and  when  the  cock  crew,  the  simple  people 
clapped  their  hands  and  inquired  what  he  was  saying.14  Their 
intellects  were  so  bewildered  by  sights  so  novel  that  they 
seemed  incapable  of  distinguishing  between  man  and  brute. 

Molina  was  then  escorted  to  the  residence  of  the  curaca, 
whom  he  found  living  in  much  state,  with  porters  stationed  at 
his  doors,  and  with  a quantity  of  gold  and  silver  vessels,  from 
which  he  was  served.  He  was  then  taken  to  different  parts  of 
the  Indian  city,  and  saw  a fortress  built  of  rough  stone,  and, 
though  low,  spreading  over  a large  extent  of  ground.15  Near 
this  was  a temple ; and  the  Spaniard’s  description  of  its  dec- 
orations, blazing  with  gold  and  silver,  seemed  so  extravagant 
that  Pizarro,  distrusting  his  whole  account,  resolved  to  send 
a more  discreet  and  trustworthy  emissary  on  the  following 
day.16  N 

The  person  selected  was  Pedro  de  Candia,  the  Greek  cava- 
lier mentioned  as  one  of  the  first  who  intimated  his  intention 
to  share  the  fortunes  of  his  commander.  He  was  sent  on 
shore,  dressed  in  complete  mail,  as  became  a good  knight, 
with  his  sword  by  his  side,  and  his  arquebuse  on  his  shoulder. 
The  Indians  were  even  more  dazzled  by  his  appearance  than 
by  Molina’s,  as  the  sun  fell  brightly  on  his  polished  armor  and 
glanced  from  his  military  weapons.  They  had  heard  much  of 
the  formidable  arquebuse  from  their  townsmen  who  had  come 
in  the  vessel,  and  they  besought  Candia  “ to  let  it  speak  to 
them.  ’ ’ He  accordingly  set  up  a wooden  board  as  a target, 
and,  taking  deliberate  aim,  fired  off  the  musket.  The  flash  of 
the  powder  and  the  startling  report  of  the  piece,  as  the  board, 
struck  by  the  ball,  was  shivered  into  splinters,  filled  the  na- 
tives with  dismay.  Some  fell  on  the  ground,  covering  their 
faces  with  their  hands,  and  others  approached  the  cavalier 
with  feelings  of  awe,  which  were  gradually  dispelled  by  the 

14  Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  3,  lib.  10,  cap.  5. 

15  “Cerca  del  solia  estar  una  fortaleza  muy  fuerte  y de  linda  obra,  hecha  por  los  Yngas 

reyes  del  Cuzco  y senores  de  todo  el  Peru.  . . . Ya  esta  el  edificio  desta  fortaleza  muy 

gastado  y deshecho  : mas  no  para  que  dexe  de  dar  muestra  de  lo  mucho  que  file.”  Cieza 
de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap.  4. 

16  Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS. — Herrera,  Hist,  general,  loc.  cit. — Zarate,  Conq.  del 
Peru,  lib.  1,  cap.  2. 


chap,  iv.]  BRILLIANT  ASPECT  OF  TUMBEZ. 


2 1 1 


assurance  they  received  from  the  smiling  expression  of  his 
countenance. 17 

They  then  showed  him  the  same  hospitable  attentions  which 
they  had  paid  to  Molina ; and  his  description  of  the  marvels 
of  the  place,  on  his  return,  fell  nothing  short  of  his  predeces- 
sor’s. The  fortress,  which  was  surrounded  by  a triple  row  of 
wall,  was  strongly  garrisoned.  The  temple  he  described  as  lit- 
erally tapestried  with  plates  of  gold  and  silver.  Adjoining 
this  structure  was  a sort  of  convent  appropriated  to  the  Inca’s 
destined  brides,  who  manifested  great  curiosity  to  see  him. 
Whether  this  was  gratified  is  not  clear  ; but  Candia  described 
the  gardens  of  the  convent,  which  he  entered,  as  glowing  with 
imitations  of  fruits  and  vegetables  all  in  pure  gold  and  silver.18 
He  had  seen  a number  of  artisans  at  work,  whose  sole  business 
seemed  to  be  to  furnish  these  gorgeous  decorations  for  the  re- 
ligious houses. 

The  reports  of  the  cavalier  may  have  been  somewhat  over- 
colored.19 It  was  natural  that  men  coming  from  the  dreary 
wilderness  in  which  they  had  been  buried  the  last  six 
months  should  have  been  vividly  impressed  by  the  tokens  of 

17  It  is  moreover  stated  that  the  Indians,  desirous  to  prove  still  further  the  superhuman 
nature  of  the  Spanish  cavalier,  let  loose  on  him  a tiger — a jaguar  probably — which  was 
caged  in  the  royal  fortress.  But  Don  Pedro  was  a good  Catholic,  and  he  gently  laid  the  cross 
which  he  wore  round  his  neck  on  the  animal’s  back,  who,  instantly  forgetting  his  ferocious 
nature  crouched  at  the  cavalier’s  feet  and  began  to  play  round  him  in  innocent  gambols. 
The  Indians,  now  more  amazed  than  ever,  nothing  doubted  of  the  sanctity  of  their  guest, 
and  bore  him  in  triumph  on  their  shoulders  to  the  temple.  This  credible  anecdote  is  repeat- 
ed, without  the  least  qualification  or  distrust,  by  several  contemporary  writers.  (See  Nahar- 
ro,  Relacion  sumaria,  MS. — Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  3,  lib.  10,  cap.  5. — Cieza  deLeon, 
Cronica,  cap.  54. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  2,  lib.  1,  cap.  12.)  This  last  author  may 
have  had  his  version  from  Candia’s  own  son,  with  whom  he  tells  us  he  was  brought  up  at 
school.  It  will  no  doubt  find  as  easy  admission  with  those  of  the  present  day  who  conceive 
that  the  age  of  miracles  has  not  yet  passed. 

18  “Que  habia  visto  un  jardin  donde  las  yerbas  eran  de  oro  imitando  en  un  todo  d las 
naturales,  arboles  con  frutas  de  lo  mismo,  y otras  muchas  cosas  d este  modo,  con  que  afici- 
ono  grandemente  d sus  companeros  a esta  conquista.”  Montesinos,  Annales,  ano  1527. 

19  The  worthy  knight’s  account  does  not  seem  to  have  found  favor  with  the  old  Conqueror, 
so  often  cited  in  these  pages,  who  says  that,  when  they  afterward  visited  Tumbez,  the 
Spaniards  found  Candia’s  relation  a lie  from  beginning  to  end,  except,  indeed,  in  respect  to 
the  temple  ; though  the  veteran  acknowledges  that  what  was  deficient  in  Tumbez  was  more 
than  made  up  by  the  magnificence  of  other  places  in  the  empire  not  then  visited.  “ Lo  cual 
fue  mentira  ; porque  despues  que  todos  los  Espanoles  entramos  en  ella,  se  vi6  por  vista 
de  ojos  haber  mentido  en  todo,  salvo  en  lo  del  templo,  que  este  era  cosa  de  ver,  aunque 
mucho  mas  de  lo  que  aquel  encarecio,  lo  que  faltd  en  esta  ciudad,  se  hallo  despues  en 
otras  que  muchas  leguas  mas  adelante  se  descubrieron.”  Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. 


212 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  II. 


civilization  which  met  them  on  the  Peruvian  coast.  But  Turn* 
bez  was  a favorite  city  of  the  Peruvian  princes.  It  was  the 
most  important  place  on  the  northern  borders  of  the  empire, 
contiguous  to  the  recent  acquisition  of  Quito.  The  great  Tu- 
pac Yupanqui  had  established  a strong  fortress  there,  and  peo- 
pled it  with  a colony  of  mitimaes.  The  temple,  and  the  house 
occupied  by  the  Virgins  of  the  Sun,  had  been  erected  by 
Huayna  Capac,  and  were  liberally  endowed  by  that  Inca,  after 
the  sumptuous  fashion  of  the  religious  establishments  of  Peru. 
The  town  was  well  supplied  with  water  by  numerous  aqueducts ; 
and  the  fruitful  valley  in  which  it  was  embosomed,  and  the  ocean 
which  bathed  its  shores,  supplied  ample  means  of  subsistence  to 
a considerable  population.  But  the  cupidity  of  the  Spaniards, 
after  the  Conquest,  was  not  slow  in  despoiling  the  place  of  its 
glories ; and  the  site  of  its  proud  towers  and  temples,  in  less 
than  half  a century  after  that  fatal  period,  was  to  be  traced 
only  by  the  huge  mass  of  ruins  that  encumbered  the  ground.20 

The  Spaniards  were  nearly  mad  with  joy,  says  an  old  writer, 
at  receiving  these  brilliant  tidings  of  the  Peruvian  city.  All 
their  fond  dreams  were  now  to  be  realized,  and  they  had  at 
length  reached  the  realm  which  had  so  long  flitted  in  visionary 
splendor  before  them.  Pizarro  expressed  his  gratitude  to 
Heaven  for  having  crowned  his  labors  with  so  glorious  a result ; 
but  he  bitterly  lamented  the  hard  fate  which,  by  depriving 
him  of  his  followers,  denied  him,  at  such  a moment,  the  means 
of  availing  himself  of  his  success.  Yet  he  had  no  cause  for 
lamentation ; and  the  devout  Catholic  saw  in  this  very  circum- 
stance, a providential  interposition  which  prevented  the  at- 
tempt at  conquest  while  such  attempts  would  have  been  pre- 
mature. Peru  was  not  yet  torn  asunder  by  the  dissensions  of 
rival  candidates  for  the  throne  ; and,  united  and  strong  under 
the  sceptre  of  a warlike  monarch,  she  might  well  have  bid  de- 
fiance to  all  the  forces  that  Pizarro  could  muster.  “ It  was 
manifestly  the  work  of  Heaven/ ' exclaims  a devout  son  of  the 

70  Cieaa  de  Leon,  who  crossed  this  part  of  the  country  In  1548,  mentions  the  wanton  man- 
ner in  which  the  hand  of  the  Conqueror  had  fallen  on  the  Indian  edifices,  which  lay  in  ruins 
even  at  that  early  period.  Cronica,  cap.  67. 


chap,  iv.]  DISCOVERIES  ALONG  THE  COAST. 


213 


Church,  “ that  the  natives  of  the  country  should  have  received 
him  in  so  kind  and  loving  a spirit  as  best  fitted  to  facilitate 
the  conquest ; for  it  was  the  Lord’s  hand  which  led  him  and 
his  followers  to  this  remote  region  for  the  extension  of  the  holy 
faith,  and  for  the  salvation  of  souls.  ’ ’ 21 

Having  now  collected  all  the  information  essential  to  his  ob- 
ject, Pizarro,  after  taking  leave  of  the  natives  of  Tumbez  and 
promising  a speedy  return,  weighed  anchor,  and  again  turned 
his  prow  toward  the  south.  Still  keeping  as  near  as  possible  to 
the  coast,  that  no  place  of  importance  might  escape  his  obser- 
vation, he  passed  Cape  Blanco,  and,  after  sailing  about  a de- 
gree and  a half,  made  the  port  of  Payta.  The  inhabitants,  who 
had  notice  of  his  approach,  came  out  in  their  balsas  to  get 
sight  of  the  wonderful  strangers,  bringing  with  them  stores  of 
fruits,  fish,  and  vegetables,  with  the  same  hospitable  spirit 
shown  by  their  countrymen  at  Tumbez. 

After  staying  here  a short  time,  and  interchanging  presents 
of  trifling  value  with  the  natives,  Pizarro  continued  his  cruise ; 
and,  sailing  by  the  sandy  plains  of  Sechura  for  an  extent  of 
near  a hundred  miles,  he  doubled  the  Punta  de  Aguja,  and 
swept  down  the  coast  as  it  fell  off  towards  the  east,  still  carried 
forward  by  light  and  somewhat  variable  breezes.  The  weather 
now  became  unfavorable,  and  the  voyagers  encountered  a succes- 
sion of  heavy  gales,  which  drove  them  some  distance  out  to 
sea  and  tossed  them  about  for  many  days.  But  they  did  not 
lose  sight  of  the  mighty  ranges  of  the  Andes,  which,  as  they 
proceeded  toward  the  south,  were  still  seen,  at  nearly  the  same 
distance  from  the  shore,  rolling  onward,  peak  after  peak,  with 
their  stupendous  surges  of  ice,  like  some  vast  ocean  that  had 
been  suddenly  arrested  and  frozen  up  in  the  midst  of  its  wild 
and  tumultuous  career.  With  this  landmark  always  in  view, 
the  navigator  had  little  need  of  star  or  compass  to  guide  his 
bark  on  her  course. 

As  soon  as  the  tempest  had  subsided,  Pizarro  stood  in  again 

21  “I  si  1e  recibiesen  con  amor,  hiciese  su  Mrd.  lo  que  mas  conveniente  le  pareciese  al 
efecto  de  su  conquista  : porque  tenia  entendido,  que  el  haverlos  traido  Dios  erd  para 
que  su  santa  fd  se  dilatase  i aquellas  almas  se  salvasen.  ” Naharro,  Relacion  sumaria, 
MS. 


214 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  II 


for  the  continent,  touching  at  the  principal  points  as  he  coasted 
along.  Everywhere  he  was  received  with  the  same  spirit  of 
generous  hospitality,  the  natives  coming  out  in  their  balsas  to 
welcome  him,  laden  with  their  little  cargoes  of  fruits  and  vege- 
tables, of  all  the  luscious  varieties  that  grow  in  the  tierra  cali- 
ente.  All  were  eager  to  have  a glimpse  of  the  strangers,  the 
“ Children  of  the  Sun,”  as  the  Spaniards  began  already  to  be 
called,  from  their  fair  complexions,  brilliant  armor,  and  the 
thunderbolts  which  they  bore  in  their  hands.22  The  most  fa- 
vorable reports,  too,  had  preceded  them,  of  the  urbanity  and 
gentleness  of  their  manners,  thus  unlocking  the  hearts  of  the 
simple  natives  and  disposing  them  to  confidence  and  kindness. 
The  iron-hearted  soldier  had  not  yet  disclosed  the  darker  side 
of  his  character.  He  was  too  weak  to  do  so.  The  hour  of  con- 
quest had  not  yet  come. 

In  every  place  Pizarro  received  the  same  accounts  of  a pow- 
erful monarch  who  ruled  over  the  land,  and  held  his  court  on 
the  mountain  plains  of  the  interior,  where  his  capital  was  de- 
picted as  blazing  with  gold  and  silver  and  displaying  all  the 
profusion  of  an  Oriental  satrap.  The  Spaniards,  except  at 
Tumbez,  seem  to  have  met  with  little  of  the  precious  metals 
among  the  natives  on  the  coast.  More  than  one  writer  asserts 
that  they  did  not  covet  them,  or  at  least,  by  Pizarro’s  orders, 
affected  not  to  do  so.  He  would  not  have  them  betray  their 
appetite  for  gold,  and  actually  refused  gifts  when  they  were 
proffered  ! 23  It  is  more  probable  that  they  saw  little  display 
of  wealth,  except  in  the  embellishments  of  the  temples  and 
other  sacred  buildings,  which  they  did  not  dare  to  violate. 
The  precious  metals,  reserved  for  the  uses  of  religion  and  for 
persons  of  high  degree,  were  not  likely  to  abound  in  the  re- 
mote towns  and  hamlets  on  the  coast. 

Yet  the  Spaniards  met  with  sufficient  evidence  of  general 

23  “ Que  resplandecian  como  el  Sol.  Llamabanles  hijos  del  Sol  por  esto.”  Montesinos, 

Annales,  MS.,  ano  1528. 

33  Pizarro  wished  the  natives  to  understand,  says  Father  Naharro,  that  their  good  alone, 
and  not  the  love  of  gold,  had  led  him  to  their  distant  land  ! “ Sin  haver  querido  recibir  el 

oro,  plata  i perlas  que  les  ofrecieron,  a fin  de  que  conociesen  no  era  codicia,  sino  deseo  de 
su  bien  el  que  les  habia  traido  de  tan  lejas  tierras  d las  suyas.”  Relacion  sumaria,  MS. 


chap,  iv.]  DISCOVERIES  ALONG  THE  COAST. 


215 


civilization  and  power  to  convince  them  that  there  was  much 
foundation  for  the  reports  of  the  natives.  Repeatedly  they 
saw  structures  of  stone  and  plaster,  occasionally  showing  archi- 
tectural skill  in  the  execution,  if  not  elegance  of  design. 
Wherever  they  cast  anchor,  they  beheld  green  patches  of  culti- 
vated country  redeemed  from  the  sterility  of  nature  and  bloom- 
ing with  the  variegated  vegetation  of  the  tropics ; while  a 
refined  system  of  irrigation,  by  means  of  aqueducts  and  canals, 
seemed  to  be  spread  like  a network  over  the  surface  of  the 
country,  making  even  the  desert  to  blossom  as  the  rose.  At 
many  places  where  they  landed  they  saw  the  great  road  of  the 
Incas  which  traversed  the  sea-coast,  often,  indeed,  lost  in  the 
volatile  sands,  where  no  road  could  be  maintained,  but  rising 
into  a broad  and  substantial  causeway  as  it  emerged  on  a firmer 
soil.  Such  a provision  for  internal  communication  was  in  it- 
self no  slight  monument  of  power  and  civilization. 

Still  beating  to  the  south,  Pizarro  passed  the  site  of  the  fut- 
ure flourishing  city  of  Truxillo,  founded  by  himself  some  years 
later,  and  pressed  on  till  he  rode  off  the  port  of  Santa.  It 
stood  on  the  banks  of  a broad  and  beautiful  stream  ; but  the 
surrounding  country  was  so  exceedingly  arid  that  it  was  fre- 
quently selected  as  a burial-place  by  the  Peruvians,  who  found 
the  soil  most  favorable  for  the  preservation  of  their  mummies. 
So  numerous,  indeed,  were  the  Indian  huacas  that  the  place 
might  rather  be  called  the  abode  of  the  dead  than  of  the  liv- 
ing.24 

Having  reached  this  point,  about  the  ninth  degree  of  south- 
ern latitude,  Pizarro’s  followers  besought  him  not  to  prosecute 
the  voyage  farther.  Enough  and  more  than  enough  had  been 
done,  they  said,  to  prove  the  existence  and  actual  position  of 
the  great  Indian  empire  of  which  they  had  so  long  been  in 
search.  Yet,  with  their  slender  force,  they  had  no  power  to 
profit  by  the  discovery.  All  that  remained,  therefore,  was  to 

24  “ Lo  que  mas  me  admiro,  quando  passe  por  este  valle,  fue  ver  la  muchedumbre  que 
tknen  de  sepolturas  : y que  por  todas  las  sierras  y secadales  en  los  altos  del  valle  ay 
numero  grande  de  apartados,  hechos  a su  usanga,  todo  cubiertas  de  huessos  de  muertos. 
De  manera  que  lo  que  ay  en  este  valle  mas  que  ver,  es  las  sepolturas  de  los  muertos,  y los 
campos  que  labraron  siendo  vivos.”  Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap.  70. 


2l6 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  IL 


return  and  report  the  success  of  their  enterprise  to  the  governor 
at  Panama.  Pizarro  acquiesced  in  the  reasonableness  of  this 
demand.  He  had  now  penetrated  nine  degrees  farther  than 
any  former  navigator  in  these  southern  seas,  and,  instead  of 
the  blight  which,  up  to  this  hour,  had  seemed  to  hang  over  his 
fortunes,  he  could  now  return  in  triumph  to  his  countrymen. 
Without  hesitation,  therefore,  he  prepared  to  retrace  his  course, 
and  stood  again  toward  the  north. 

On  his  way  he  touched  at  several  places  where  he  had  before 
landed.  At  one  of  these,  called  by  the  Spaniards  Santa  Cruz, 
he  had  been  invited  on  shore  by  an  Indian  woman  of  rank, 
and  had  promised  to  visit  her  on  his  return.  No  sooner  did 
his  vessel  cast  anchor  off  the  village  where  she  lived,  than  she 
came  on  board,  followed  by  a numerous  train  of  attendants. 
Pizarro  received  her  with  every  mark  of  respect,  and  on  her 
departure  presented  her  with  some  trinkets  which  had  a real 
value  in  the  eyes  of  an  Indian  princess.  She  urged  the  Span- 
ish commander  and  his  companions  to  return  the  visit,  engag- 
ing to  send  a number  of  hostages  on  board  as  security  for  their 
good  treatment.  Pizarro  assured  her  that  the  frank  confidence 
she  had  shown  toward  them  proved  that  this  was  unnecessary. 
Yet  no  sooner  did  he  put  off  in  his  boat,  the  following  day,  to 
go  on  shore,  than  several  of  the  principal  persons  in  the  place 
came  alongside  of  the  ship  to  be  received  as  hostages  during 
the  absence  of  the  Spaniards — a singular  proof  of  considera- 
tion for  the  sensitive  apprehensions  of  her  guests. 

Pizarro  found  that  preparations  had  been  made  for  his  re- 
ception in  a style  of  simple  hospitality  that  evinced  some  de- 
gree of  taste.  Arbors  were  formed  of  luxuriant  and  wide- 
spreading  branches,  interwoven  with  fragrant  flowers  and 
shrubs  that  diffused  a delicious  perfume  through  the  air.  A 
banquet  was  provided,  teeming  with  viands  prepared  in  the 
style  of  the  Peruvian  cookery,  and  with  fruits  and  vegetables 
of  tempting  hue  and  luscious  to  the  taste,  though  their  names 
and  nature  were  unknown  to  the  Spaniards.  After  the  colla- 
tion was  ended,  the  guests  were  entertained  with  music  and 
dancing  by  a troop  of  young  men  and  maidens  simply  attired, 


CHAP.  IV.] 


RETURN  TO  PANAMA. 


21/ 


who  exhibited  in  their  favorite  national  amusement  all  the 
agility  and  grace  which  the  supple  limbs  of  the  Peruvian  In- 
dians so  well  qualified  them  to  display.  Before  his  departure, 
Pizarro  stated  to  his  kind  host  the  motives  of  his  visit  to  the 
country,  in  the  same  manner  as  he  had  done  on  other  occa- 
sions, and  he  concluded  by  unfurling  the  royal  banner  of  Cas- 
tile, which  he  had  brought  on  shore,  requesting  her  and  her 
attendants  to  raise  it  in  token  of  their  allegiance  to  his  sover- 
eign. This  they  did  with  great  good  humor,  laughing  all  the 
while,  says  the  chronicler,  and  making  it  clear  that  they  had  a 
very  imperfect  conception  of  the  serious  nature  of  the  cere- 
mony. Pizarro  was  contented  with  this  outward  display  of 
loyalty,  and  returned  to  his  vessel  well  satisfied  with  the  enter- 
tainment he  had  received,  and  meditating,  it  may  be,  on  the 
best  mode  of  repaying  it,  hereafter,  by  the  subjugation  and 
conversion  of  the  country. 

The  Spanish  commander  did  not  omit  to  touch  also  at  Tum- 
bez  on  his  homeward  voyage.  Here  some  of  his  followers, 
won  by  the  comfortable  aspect  of  the  place  and  the  manners  of 
the  people,  intimated  a wish  to  remain,  conceiving,  no  doubt, 
that  it  would  be  better  to  live  where  they  would  be  persons  of 
consequence  than  to  return  to  an  obscure  condition  in  the  com- 
munity of  Panama.  One  of  these  men  was  Alonso  de  Molina, 
the  same  who  had  first  gone  on  shore  at  this  place  and  been 
captivated  by  the  charms  of  the  Indian  beauties.  Pizarro  com- 
plied with  their  wishes,  thinking  it  would  not  be  amiss  to  find, 
on  his  return,  some  of  his  own  followers  who  would  be  in- 
structed in  the  language  and  usages  of  the  natives.  He  was 
also  allowed  to  carry  back  in  his  vessel  two  or  three  Peruvians, 
for  the  similar  purpose  of  instructing  them  in  the  Castilian. 
One  of  them,  a youth  named  by  the  Spaniards  Felipillo,  plays 
a part  of  some  importance  in  the  history  of  subsequent  events. 

On  leaving  Tumbez,  the  adventurers  steered  directly  for 
Panama,  touching  only,  on  their  way,  at  the  ill-fated  island  of 
Gorgona,  to  take  on  board  their  two  companions  who  were 
left  there  too  ill  to  proceed  with  them.  One  had  died ; and, 
receiving  the  other,  Pizarro  and  his  gallant  little  band  con- 


218 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  II. 


tinued  their  voyage,  and,  after  an  absence  of  at  least  eighteen 
months,  found  themselves  once  more  safely  riding  at  anchor  in 
the  harbor  of  Panama.26 

The  sensation  caused  by  their  arrival  was  great,  as  might 
have  been  expected.  For  there  were  few,  even  among  the 
most  sanguine  of  their  friends,  who  did  not  imagine  that  they 
had  long  since  paid  for  their  temerity,  and  fallen  victims  to 
the  climate  or  the  natives,  or  miserably  perished  in  a watery 
grave.  Their  joy  was  proportionably  great,  therefore,  as  they 
saw  the  wanderers  now  returned,  not  only  in  health  and  safety, 
but  with  certain  tidings  of  the  fair  countries  which  had  so  long 
eluded  their  grasp.  It  was  a moment  of  proud  satisfaction  to 
the  three  associates,  who,  in  spite  of  obloquy,  derision,  and 
every  impediment  which  the  distrust  of  friends  or  the  coldness 
of  government  could  throw  in  their  way,  had  persevered  in 
their  great  enterprise  until  they  had  established  the  truth  of 
what  had  been  so  generally  denounced  as  a chimera.  It  is  the 
misfortune  of  those  daring  spirits  who  conceive  an  idea  too 
vast  for  their  own  generation  to  comprehend,  or,  at  least,  to 
attempt  to  carry  out,  that  they  pass  for  visionary  dreamers. 
Such  had  been  the  fate  of  Luque  and  his  associates.  The  ex- 
istence of  a rich  Indian  empire  at  the  south,  which  in  their 
minds,  dwelling  long  on  the  same  idea  and  alive  to  all  the 
arguments  in  its  favor,  had  risen  to  the  certainty  of  conviction, 
had  been  derided  by  the  rest  of  their  countrymen  as  a mere 
mirage  of  the  fancy,  which,  on  nearer  approach,  would  melt 
into  air  ; while  the  projectors  who  staked  their  fortunes  on  the 
adventure  were  denounced  as  madmen.  But  their  hour  of  tri- 
umph, their  slow  and  hard-earned  triumph,  had  now  arrived. 

Yet  the  governor,  Pedro  de  los  Rios,  did  not  seem,  even  at 
this  moment,  to  be  possessed  with  a conviction  of  the  magni- 
tude of  the  discovery — or  perhaps  he  was  discouraged  by  its 
very  magnitude.  When  the  associates  now  with  more  confi- 
dence applied  to  him  for  patronage  in  an  undertaking  too  vast 

2*  Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS.— Montesinos,  Annales,  MS.,  ano  1528.— Naharro,  Rda- 
cion  sumaria,  MS. — Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  4« 
lib.  2,  cap.  6,  7. — Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. 


CHAP.  IV.] 


RETURN  TO  PANAMA . 


219 


for  their  individual  resources,  he  coldly  replied,  “ He  had  no 
desire  to  build  up  other  states  at  the  expense  of  his  own  ; nor 
would  he  be  led  to  throw  away  more  lives  than  had  already 
been  sacrificed  by  the  cheap  display  of  gold  and  silver  toys  and 
a few  Indian  sheep.”  28 

Sorely  disheartened  by  this  repulse  from  the  only  quarter 
whence  effectual  aid  could  be  expected,  the  confederates,  with- 
out funds,  and  with  credit  nearly  exhausted  by  their  past  ef- 
forts, were  perplexed  in  the  extreme.  Yet  to  stop  now — what 
was  it  but  to  abandon  the  rich  mine  which  their  own  industry 
and  perseverance  had  laid  open,  for  others  to  work  at  pleasure  ? 
In  this  extremity  the  fruitful  mind  of  Luque  suggested  the  only 
expedient  by  which  they  could  hope  for  success.  This  was  to 
apply  to  the  crown  itself.  No  one  was  so  much  interested  in 
the  result  of  the  expedition.  It  was  for  the  government,  in- 
deed, that  discoveries  were  to  be  made,  that  the  country  was  to 
be  conquered.  The  government  alone  was  competent  to  provide 
the  requisite  means,  and  was  likely  to  take  a much  broader  and 
more  liberal  view  of  the  matter  than  a petty  colonial  officer. 

But  who  was  there  qualified  to  take  charge  of  this  delicate 
mission  ? Luque  was  chained  by  his  professional  duties  to 
Panama ; and  his  associates,  unlettered  soldiers,  were  much 
better  fitted  for  the  business  of  the  camp  than  of  the  court. 
Almagro,  blunt,  though  somewhat  swelling  and  ostentatious  in 
his  address,  with  a diminutive  stature  and  a countenance  natu- 
rally plain,  now  much  disfigured  by  the  loss  of  an  eye,  was  not 
so  well  qualified  for  the  mission  as  his  companion  in  arms,  who, 
possessing  a good  person  and  altogether  a commanding  pres- 
ence, was  plausible,  and,  with  all  his  defects  of  education, 
could,  where  deeply  interested,  be  even  eloquent  in  discourse. 
The  ecclesiastic,  however,  suggested  that  the  negotiation  should 
be  committed  to  the  Licentiate  Corral,  a respectable  function- 
ary, then  about  to  return  on  some  public  business  to  the 

36  “ No  entendia  de  despoblar  su  Govemacion,  para  que  se  faesen  & poblar  nuevas 
Tierras,  muriendo  en  tal  demanda  mas  Gente  de  la  que  havia  muerto,  cebando  & los  Horn* 
bres  con  la  muestra  de  las  Ovejas,  Oro,  i Plata,  que  havian  traido.”  Herrera,  Hist,  gen- 
eral, dec.  4,  lib.  3,  cap.  x. 


Peru  10 


Vol.  1 


220 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU, 


[BOOK  IL 


mother-country.  But  to  this  Almagro  strongly  objected.  No 
one,  he  said,  could  conduct  the  affair  so  well  as  the  party  in- 
terested in  it.  He  had  a high  opinion  of  Pizarro’s  prudence, 
his  discernment  of  character,  and  his  cool,  deliberate  policy.87 
He  knew  enough  of  his  comrade  to  have  confidence  that  his 
presence  of  mind  would  not  desert  him  even  in  the  new,  and 
therefore  embarrassing,  circumstances  in  which  he  would  be 
placed  at  court.  No  one,  he  said,  could  tell  the  story  of  their 
adventures  with  such  effect  as  the  man  who  had  been  the  chief 
actor  in  them.  No  one  could  so  well  paint  the  unparalleled 
sufferings  and  sacrifices  which  they  had  encountered ; no  other 
could  tell  so  forcibly  what  had  been  done,  what  yet  remained 
to  do,  and  what  assistance  would  be  necessary  to  carry  it  into 
execution.  He  concluded,  with  characteristic  frankness,  by 
strongly  urging  his  confederate  to  undertake  the  mission. 

Pizarro  felt  the  force  of  Almagro’ s reasoning,  and,  though 
with  undisguised  reluctance,  acquiesced  in  a measure  which 
was  less  to  his  taste  than  an  expedition  to  the  wilderness.  But 
Luque  came  into  the  arrrangement  with  more  difficulty.  “ God 
grant,  my  children,”  exclaimed  the  ecclesiastic,  “ that  one  of 
you  may  not  defraud  the  other  of  his  blessing  ! ” 28  Pizarro 
engaged  to  consult  the  interests  of  his  associates  equally  with 
his  own.  But  Luque,  it  is  clear,  did  not  trust  Pizarro. 

There  was  some  difficulty  in  raising  the  funds  necessary  for 
putting  the  envoy  in  condition  to  make  a suitable  appearance 
at  court ; so  low  had  the  credit  of  the  confederates  fallen,  and 
so  little  confidence  was  yet  placed  in  the  result  of  their  splen- 
did discoveries.  Fifteen  hundred  ducats  were  at  length  raised ; 
and  Pizarro,  in  the  spring  of  1528,  bade  adieu  to  Panama,  ac- 
companied by  Pedro  de  Candia.20  He  took  with  him,  also, 
some  of  the  natives,  as  well  as  two  or  three  llamas,  various  nice 

27  “ E por  pura  importunacion  de  Almagro  cupole  & Pizarro,  porque  siempre  Almagro 
le  tubo  respeto,  e deseo  honrarle.  ” Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8, 
cap.  1. 

28  “ Plegue  a Dios,  Hijos,  que  no  os  hurteis  la  bendicion  el  uno  al  otro  que  yo  todavia 
holgaria,  que  d lo  menos  fuerades  entrambos.”  Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  4,  lib.  3, 
cap.  1. 

29  “ Juntaronle  mil  y quinientos  pesos  de  oro,  que  did  de  buena  voluntad  D“  Fernando 
de  Luque.”  Montesinos,  Annales,  MS.,  ano  1528. 


CHAP.  IV.] 


GARCILASSO  DE  LA  VEGA . 


221 


fabrics  of  cloth,  with  many  ornaments  and  vases  of  gold  and 
silver,  as  specimens  of  the  civilization  of  the  country,  and 
vouchers  for  his  wonderful  story. 


Of  all  the  writers  on  ancient  Peruvian  history,  no  one  has  acquired  so 
wide  celebrity,  or  been  so  largely  referred  to  by  later  compilers,  as  the 
Inca  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega.  He  was  born  in  Cuzco,  in  1540,  and  was  a 
mestizo , that  is,  of  mixed  descent,  his  father  being  European  and  his 
mother  Indian.  His  father,  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  was  one  of  that  illus- 
trious family  whose  achievements,  both  in  arms  and  letters,  shed  such 
lustre  over  the  proudest  period  of  the  Castilian  annals.  He  came  to  Peru, 
in  the  suite  of  Pedro  de  Alvarado,  soon  after  the  country  had  been  gained 
by  Pizarro.  Garcilasso  attached  himself  to  the  fortunes  of  this  chief,  and, 
after  his  death,  to  those  of  his  brother  Gonzalo — remaining  constant  to 
the  latter  through  his  rebellion,  up  to  the  hour  of  his  rout  at  Xaquixa- 
guana,  when  Garcilasso  took  the  same  course  with  most  of  his  faction,  and 
passed  over  to  the  enemy.  But  this  demonstration  of  loyalty,  though  it 
saved  his  life,  was  too  late  to  redeem  his  credit  with  the  victorious  party  ; 
and  the  obloquy  which  he  incurred  by  his  share  in  the  rebellion  threw  a 
cloud  over  his  subsequent  fortunes,  and  even  over  those  of  his  son,  as  it 
appears,  in  after  years. 

The  historian’s  mother  was  of  the  Peruvian  blood  royal.  She  was  niece 
of  Huayna  Capac,  and  granddaughter  of  the  renowned  Tupac  IncaYupan- 
qui.  Garcilasso,  while  he  betrays  obvious  satisfaction  that  the  blood  of 
the  civilized  European  flows  in  his  veins,  shows  himself  not  a little  proud 
of  his  descent  from  the  royal  dynasty  of  Peru  ; and  this  he  intimated  by 
combining  with  his  patronymic  the  distinguishing  title  of  the  Peruvian 
princes — subscribing  himself  always  Garcilasso  Inca  de  la  Vega. 

His  early  years  were  passed  in  his  native  land,  where  he  was  reared  in 
the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  and  received  the  benefit  of  as  good  an  education 
as  could  be  obtained  amid  the  incessant  din  of  arms  and  civil  commotion. 
In  1560,  when  twenty  years  of  age,  he  left  America,  and  from  that  time 
took  up  his  residence  in  Spain.  Here  he  entered  the  military  service,  and 
held  a captain's  commission  in  the  war  against  the  Moriscos,  and,  after- 
ward, under  Don  John  of  Austria.  Though  he  acquitted  himself  honor- 
ably in  his  adventurous  career,  he  does  not  seem  to  have  been  satisfied 
with  the  manner  in  which  his  services  were  requited  by  the  government. 
The  old  reproach  of  the  father’s  disloyalty  still  clung  to  the  son,  and  Gar- 
cilasso assures  us  that  this  circumstance  defeated  all  his  efforts  to  recover 
the  large  inheritance  of  landed  property  belonging  to  his  mother,  which 
had  escheated  to  the  crown.  “Such  were  the  prejudices  against  me,” 
says  he,  “that  I could  not  urge  my  ancient  claims  or  expectations  ; and  I 
left  the  army  so  poor  and  so  much  in  debt  that  I did  not  care  to  show  my- 


222 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  II. 


self  again  at  court,  but  was  obliged  to  withdraw  into  an  obscure  solitude, 
where  I lead  a tranquil  life  for  the  brief  space  that  remains  to  me,  no 
longer  deluded  by  the  world  or  its  vanities.  ’* 

The  scene  of  this  obscure  retreat  was  not,  however,  as  the  reader  might 
imagine  from  this  tone  of  philosophic  resignation,  in  the  depths  of  some 
rural  wilderness,  but  in  Cordova,  once  the  gay  capital  of  Moslem  science, 
and  still  the  busy  haunt  of  men.  Here  our  philosopher  occupied  himself 
with  literary  labors,  the  more  sweet  and  soothing  to  his  wounded  spirit 
that  they  tended  to  illustrate  the  faded  glories  of  his  native  land  and  ex- 
hibit them  in  their  primitive  splendor  to  the  eyes  of  his  adopted  country- 
men. ‘ ‘ And  I have  no  reason  to  regret,  ” he  says  in  his  Preface  to  his 
account  of  Florida,  “that  Fortune  has  not  smiled  on  me,  since  this  cir- 
cumstance has  opened  a literary  career  which,  I trust,  will  secure  to  me 
a wider  and  more  enduring  fame  than  could  flow  from  any  worldly  pros- 
perity. ” 

In  1609  he  gave  to  the  world  the  First  Part  of  his  great  work,  the  Com - 
mentarios  Reales , devoted  to  the  history  of  the  country  under  the  Incas  ; 
and  in  1616,  a few  months  before  his  death,  he  finished  the  Second  Part, 
embracing  the  story  of  the  Conquest,  which  was  published  at  Cordova  the 
following  year.  The  chronicler,  who  thus  closed  his  labors  with  his  life, 
died  at  the  ripe  old  age  of  seventy-six.  He  left  a considerable  sum  for  the 
purchase  of  masses  for  his  soul,  showing  that  the  complaints  of  his  poverty 
are  not  to  be  ..ken  literally.  His  remains  were  interred  in  the  cathedral 
church  of  Cordova,  in  a chapel  which  bears  the  name  of  Garcilasso  ; and 
an  inscription  was  placed  on  his  monument,  intimating  the  high  respect 
in  which  the  historian  was  held  both  for  his  moral  worth  and  his  literary 
attainments. 

The  First  Part  of  the  Com.7nentarios  Reales  is  occupied,  as  already 
noticed,  with  the  ancient  history  of  the  country,  presenting  a complete 
picture  of  its  civilization  under  the  Incas — far  more  complete  than  has 
been  given  by  any  other  writer.  Garcilasso’ s mother  was  but  ten  years 
old  at  the  time  of  her  cousin  Atahuallpa’s  accession,  or  rather  usurpation, 
as  it  is  called  by  the  party  of  Cuzco.  She  had  the  good  fortune  to  escape 
the  massacre  which,  according  to  the  chronicler,  befell  most  of  her  kin- 
dred, and,  with  her  brother,  continued  to  reside  in  their  ancient  capital 
after  the  Conquest.  Their  conversations  naturally  turned  to  the  good  old 
times  of  the  Inca  rule,  which,  colored  by  their  fond  regrets,  may  be  pre- 
sumed to  have  lost  nothing  as  seen  through  the  magnifying  medium  of 
the  past.  The  young  Garcilasso  listened  greedily  to  the  stories  which  re- 
counted the  magnificence  and  prowess  of  his  royal  ancestors,  and,  though 
he  made  no  use  of  them  at  the  time,  they  sank  deep  into  his  memory,  to 
be  treasured  up  for  a future  occasion.  When  he  prepared,  after  the  lapse 
of  many  years,  in  his  retirement  at  Cordova,  to  compose  the  history  of  his 
country,  he  wrote  to  his  old  companions  and  schoolfellows  of  the  Inca 
family,  to  obtain  fuller  information  than  he  could  get  in  Spain  on  various 


CHAP.  IV.] 


GARCILASSO  DE  LA  VEGA . 


223 


matters  of  historical  interest.  He  had  witnessed  in  his  youth  the  ancient 
ceremonies  and  usages  of  his  countrymen,  understood  the  science  of  their 
quipus,  and  mastered  many  of  their  primitive  traditions.  With  the  assist- 
ance he  now  obtained  from  his  Peruvian  kindred,  he  acquired  a familiarity 
with  the  history  of  the  great  Inca  race,  and  of  their  national  institutions, 
to  an  extent  that  no  person  could  have  possessed  unless  educated  in  the 
midst  of  them,  speaking  the  same  language,  and  with  the  same  Indian 
blood  flowing  in  his  veins.  Garcilasso,  in  short,  was  the  representative  of 
the  conquered  race  ; and  we  might  expect  to  find  the  lights  and  shadows 
of  the  picture  disposed  under  his  pencil  so  as  to  produce  an  effect  very 
different  from  that  which  they  had  hitherto  exhibited  under  the  hands  of 
the  Conquerors. 

Such,  to  a certain  extent,  is  the  fact ; and  this  circumstance  affords  a 
means  of  comparison  which  would  alone  render  his  works  of  great  value 
in  arriving  at  just  historic  conclusions.  But  Garcilasso  wrote  late  in  life, 
after  the  story  had  been  often  told  by  Castilian  writers.  He  naturally  de- 
ferred much  to  men,  some  of  whom  enjoyed  high  credit  on  the  score  both 
of  their  scholarship  and  their  social  position.  His  object,  he  professes, 
was  not  so  much  to  add  anything  new  of  his  own,  as  to  correct  their  errors 
and  the  misconceptions  into  which  they  had  been  brought  by  their  igno- 
rance of  the  Indian  languages  and  the  usages  of  his  people.  He  does,  in 
fact,  however,  go  far  beyond  this  ; and  the  stores  of  information  which  he 
has  collected  have  made  his  work  a large  repository,  whence  later  laborers 
in  the  same  field  have  drawn  copious  materials.  He  writes  from  the  ful- 
ness of  his  heart,  and  illuminates  every  topic  that  he  touches  with  a vari- 
ety and  richness  of  illustration  that  leave  little  to  be  desired  by  the  most 
importunate  curiosity.  The  difference  between  reading  his  Commentaries 
and  the  accounts  of  European  writers  is  the  difference  that  exists  between 
reading  a work  in  the  original  and  in  a bald  translation.  Garcilasso’ s 
writings  are  an  emanation  from  the  Indian  mind. 

Yet  his  Commentaries  are  open  to  a grave  objection — and  one  naturally 
suggested  by  his  position.  Addressing  himself  to  the  cultivated  European, 
he  was  most  desirous  to  display  the  ancient  glories  of  his  people,  and  still 
more  of  the  Inca  race,  in  their  most  imposing  form.  This,  doubtless,  was 
the  great  spur  to  his  literary  labors,  for  which  previous  education,  however 
good  for  the  evil  time  on  which  he  was  cast,  had  far  from  qualified  him. 
Garcilasso,  therefore,  wrote  to  effect  a particular  object.  He  stood  forth 
as  counsel  for  his  unfortunate  countrymen,  pleading  the  cause  of  that  de- 
graded rac':  before  the  tribunal  of  posterity.  The  exaggerated  tone  of 
panegyric  consequent  on  this  becomes  apparent  in  every  page  of  his  work. 
He  pictures  forth  a state  of  society  such  as  an  Utopian  philosopher  would 
hardly  venture  to  depict.  His  royal  ancestors  became  the  types  of  every 
imaginary  excellence,  and  the  golden  age  is  revived  for  a nation  which, 
while  the  war  of  proselytism  is  raging  on  its  borders,  enjoys  within  all  the 
blessings  of  tranquillity  and  peace.  Even  the  material  splendors  of  the 


224 


DISCOVERY  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  II. 


monarchy,  sufficiently  great  in  this  land  of  gold,  become  heightened, 
under  the  glowing  imagination  of  the  Inca  chronicler,  into  the  gorgeous 
illusions  of  a fairy-tale. 

Yet  there  is  truth  at  the  bottom  of  his  wildest  conceptions,  and  it  would 
be  unfair  to  the  Indian  historian  to  suppose  that  he  did  not  himself  be- 
lieve most  of  the  magic  marvels  which  he  describes.  There  is  no  credulity 
like  that  of  a Christian  convert — one  newly  converted  to  the  faith.  From 
long  dwelling  in  the  darkness  of  paganism,  his  eyes,  when  first  opened  to 
the  light  of  truth,  have  not  acquired  the  power  of  discriminating  the  just 
proportions  of  objects,  of  distinguishing  between  the  real  and  the  imag- 
inary. Garcilasso  was  not  a convert,  indeed,  for  he  was  bred  from  in- 
fancy in  the  Roman  Catholic  faith.  But  he  was  surrounded  by  converts 
and  neophytes — by  those  of  his  own  blood  who,  after  practising  all  their 
lives  the  rites  of  paganism,  were  now  first  admitted  into  the  Christian 
fold.  He  listened  to  the  teachings  of  the  missionary,  learned  from  him 
to  give  implicit  credit  to  the  marvellous  legends  of  the  Saints,  and  the  no 
less  marvellous  accounts  of  his  own  victories  in  his  spiritual  warfare  for 
the  propagation  of  the  faith.  Thus  early  accustomed  to  such  large  drafts 
on  his  credulity,  his  reason  lost  its  heavenly  power  of  distinguishing  truth 
from  error,  and  he  became  so  familiar  with  the  miraculous  that  the  mirac- 
ulous was  no  longer  a miracle. 

Yet,  while  large  deductions  are  to  be  made  on  this  account  from  the 
chronicler’s  reports,  there  is  always  a germ  of  truth  which  it  is  not  diffi- 
cult to  detect,  and  even  to  disengage  from  the  fanciful  covering  which  en- 
velops it ; and,  after  every  allowance  for  the  exaggerations  of  national 
vanity,  we  shall  find  an  abundance  of  genuine  information  in  respect  to  the 
antiquities  of  his  country,  for  which  we  shall  look  in  vain  in  any  European 
writer. 

Garcilasso’ s work  is  the  reflection  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived.  It  is 
addressed  to  the  imagination,  more  than  to  sober  reason.  We  are  dazzled 
by  the  gorgeous  spectacle  it  perpetually  exhibits,  and  delighted  by  the 
variety  of  amusing  details  and  animated  gossip  sprinkled  over  its  pages. 
The  story  of  the  action  is  perpetually  varied  by  discussions  on  topics  illus- 
trating its  progress,  so  as  to  break  up  the  monotony  of  the  narrative  and 
afford  an  agreeable  relief  to  the  reader.  This  is  true  of  the  First  Part  of 
his  great  work.  In  the  Second  there  was  no  longer  room  for  such  discus- 
sion. But  he  has  supplied  the  place  by  garrulous  reminiscences,  personal 
anecdotes,  incidental  adventures,  and  a host  of  trivial  details — trivial  in 
the  eyes  of  the  pedant — which  historians  have  been  too  willing  to  discard 
as  below  the  dignity  of  history.  We  have  the  actors  in  this  great  drama 
in  their  private  dress,  become  acquainted  with  their  personal  habits,  listen 
to  their  familiar  sayings,  and,  in  short,  gather  up  those  minutiae  which  in 
the  aggregate  make  up  so  much  of  life,  and  not  less  of  character. 

It  is  this  confusion  of  the  great  and  the  little,  thus  artlessly  blended  to- 
gether, that  constitutes  one  of  the  charms  of  the  old  romantic  chronicle 


CHAP.  IV.] 


GARCILASSO  DE  LA  VEGA. 


225 


— not  the  less  true  that,  in  this  respect,  it  approaches  nearer  to  the  usual 
tone  of  romance.  It  is  in  such  writings  that  we  may  look  to  find  the  form 
and  pressure  of  the  age.  The  worm-eaten  state-papers,  official  corre- 
spondence, public  records,  are  all  serviceable,  indispensable,  to  history. 
They  are  the  framework  on  which  it  is  to  repose  ; the  skeleton  of  facts 
which  gives  it  its  strength  and  proportions.  But  they  are  as  worthless  as 
the  dry  bones  of  the  skeleton,  unless  clothed  with  the  beautiful  form  and 
garb  of  humanity  and  instinct  with  the  spirit  of  the  age.  Our  debt  is  large 
to  the  antiquarian,  who  with  conscientious  precision  lays  broad  and  deep 
the  foundations  of  historic  truth  ; and  no  less  to  the  philosophic  annalist, 
who  exhibits  man  in  the  dress  of  public  life — man  in  masquerade  ; but 
our  gratitude  must  surely  not  be  withheld  from  those  who,  like  Garcilasso 
de  la  Vega,  and  many  a romancer  of  the  Middle  Ages,  have  held  up  the 
mirror — distorted  though  it  may  somewhat  be — to  the  interior  of  life,  reflect- 
ing every  object,  the  great  and  the  mean,  the  beautiful  and  the  deformed, 
with  their  natural  prominence  and  their  vivacity  of  coloring,  to  the  eye  of 
the  spectator.  As  a work  of  art,  such  a production  may  be  thought  to  be 
below  criticism.  But,  although  it  defy  the  rules  of  art  in  its  composition, 
it  does  not  necessarily  violate  the  principles  of  taste  ; for  it  conforms  in 
its  spirit  to  the  spirit  of  the  age  in  which  it  was  written.  And  the  critic, 
who  coldly  condemns  it  on  the  severe  principles  of  art,  will  find  a charm 
in  its  very  simplicity,  that  will  make  him  recur  again  and  again  to  its  pages, 
while  more  correct  and  classical  compositions  are  laid  aside  and  forgotten. 

I cannot  dismiss  this  notice  of  Garcilasso,  though  already  long  pro- 
tracted, without  some  allusion  to  the  English  translation  of  his  Commen- 
taries. It  appeared  in  James  the  Second’s  reign,  and  is  the  work  of  Sir 
Paul  Rycaut,  Knight.  It  was  printed  at  London  in  1688,  in  folio,  with 
considerable  pretension  in  its  outward  dress,  well  garnished  with  wood- 
cuts,  and  a frontispiece  displaying  the  gaunt  and  rather  sardonic  features, 
not  of  the  author,  but  his  translator.  The  version  keeps  pace  with  the 
march  of  the  original,  corresponding  precisely  in  books  and  chapters, 
and  seldom,  though  sometimes,  using  the  freedom,  so  common  in  these 
ancient  versions,  of  abridgment  and  omission.  Where  it  does  depart 
from  the  original,  it  is  rather  from  ignorance  than  intention.  Indeed,  so 
far  as  the  plea  of  ignorance  will  avail  him,  the  worthy  knight  may  urge  it 
stoutly  in  his  defence.  No  one  who  reads  the  book  will  doubt  his  limited 
acquaintance  with  his  own  tongue,  and  no  one  who  compares  it  with  the 
original  will  deny  his  ignorance  of  the  Castilian.  It  contains  as  many 
blunders  as  paragraphs,  and  most  of  them  such  as  might  shame  a school- 
boy. Yet  such  are  the  rude  charms  of  the  original,  that  this  ruder  version 
of  it  has  found  considerable  favor  with  readers ; and  Sir  Paul  Rycaut’s 
translation,  old  as  it  is,  may  still  be  met  with  in  many  a private,  as  well 
as  public,  library. 


BOOK  III. 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Pizarro’s  Reception  at  Court. — His  Capitulation  with  the  Crown. — He 
Visits  his  Birthplace. — Returns  to  the  New  World. — Difficulties  with 
Almagro. — His  Third  Expedition. — Adventures  on  the  Coast. — 
Battles  in  the  Isle  of  Puna. 

1528-1531. 

Pizarro  and  his  officer,  having  crossed  the  Isthmus,  em- 
barked at  Nombre  de  Dios  for  the  old  country,  and,  after  a 
good  passage,  reached  Seville  early  in  the  summer  of  1528. 
There  happened  to  be  at  that  time  in  port  a person  well 
known  in  the  history  of  Spanish  adventure  as  the  Bachelor  En- 
ciso.  He  had  taken  an  active  part  in  the  colonization  of 
Tierra  Firme,  and  had  a pecuniary  claim  against  the  early  col- 
onists of  Darien,  of  whom  Pizarro  was  one.  Immediately  on 
the  landing  of  the  latter,  he  was  seized  by  Enciso’s  orders  and 
held  in  custody  for  the  debt.  Pizarro,  who  had  fled  from  his 
native  land  as  a forlorn  and  houseless  adventurer,  after  an  ab- 
sence of  more  than  twenty  years,  passed,  most  of  them,  in  un- 
precedented toil  and  suffering,  now  found  himself  on  his  return 
the  inmate  of  a prison.  Such  was  the  commencement  of  those 
brilliant  fortunes  which,  as  he  had  trusted,  awaited  him  at 
home.  The  circumstance  excited  general  indignation ; and 
no  sooner  was  the  court  advised  of  his  arrival  in  the  country, 
and  the  great  purpose  of  his  mission,  than  orders  were  sent 


chap,  i.]  PIZARRO' S RECEPTION  AT  COURT.  227 

for  his  release,  with  permission  to  proceed  at  once  on  his 
journey. 

Pizarro  found  the  emperor  at  Toledo,  which  he  was  soon  to 
quit,  in  order  to  embark  for  Italy.  Spain  was  not  the  favorite 
residence  of  Charles  the  Fifth  in  the  earlier  part  of  his  reign. 
He  was  now  that  period  of  it  when  he  was  enjoying  the  full 
flush  of  his  triumphs  over  his  gallant  rival  of  France,  whom  he 
had  defeated  and  taken  prisoner  at  the  great  battle  of  Pavia ; 
and  the  victor  was  at  this  moment  preparing  to  pass  into  Italy 
to  receive  the  Imperial  crown  from  the  hands  of  the  Roman 
Pontiff.  Elated  by  his  successes  and  his  elevation  to  the  Ger- 
man throne,  Charles  made  little  account  of  his  hereditary  king- 
dom, as  his  ambition  found  so  splendid  a career  thrown  open 
to  it  on  the  wide  field  of  European  politics.  He  had  hitherto 
received  too  inconsiderable  returns  from  his  transatlantic  pos- 
sessions to  give  them  the  attention  they  deserved.  But,  as  the 
recent  acquisition  of  Mexico  and  the  brilliant  anticipations  in 
respect  to  the  southern  continent  were  pressed  upon  his  notice, 
he  felt  their  importance  as  likely  to  afford  him  the  means  of 
prosecuting  his  ambitious  and  most  expensive  enterprises. 

Pizarro,  therefore,  who  had  now  come  to  satisfy  the  royal 
eyes,  by  visible  proofs,  of  the  truth  of  the  golden  rumors  which 
from  time  to  time  had  reached  Castile,  was  graciously  received 
by  the  emperor.  Charles  examined  the  various  objects  which 
his  officer  exhibited  to  him  with  great  attention.  He  was  par- 
ticularly interested  by  the  appearance  of  the  llama,  so  remark- 
able as  the  only  beast  of  burden  yet  known  on  the  new  conti- 
nent ; and  the  fine  fabrics  of  woollen  cloth  which  were  made 
from  its  shaggy  sides  gave  it  a much  higher  value,  in  the  eyes 
of  the  sagacious  monarch,  than  what  it  possessed  as  an  animal 
for  domestic  labor.  But  the  specimens  of  gold  and  silver  man- 
ufacture, and  the  wonderful  tale  which  Pizarro  had  to  tell  of 
the  abundance  of  the  precious  metals,  must  have  satisfied  even 
the  cravings  of  royal  cupidity. 

Pizarro,  far  from  being  embarrassed  by  the  novelty  of  his 
situation,  maintained  his  usual  self-possession,  and  showed  that 
decorum  and  even  dignity  in  his  address  which  belong  to  the 


228 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


Castilian.  He  spoke  in  a simple  and  respectful  style,  but  with 
the  earnestness  and  natural  eloquence  of  one  who  had  been  an 
actor  in  the  scenes  he  described,  and  who  was  conscious  that 
the  impression  he  made  on  his  audience  was  to  decide  his 
future  destiny.  All  listened  with  eagerness  to  the  account  of 
his  strange  adventures  by  sea  and  land,  his  wanderings  in  the 
forests,  or  in  the  dismal  and  pestilent  swamps  on  the  sea-coast, 
without  food,  almost  without  raiment,  with  feet  torn  and 
bleeding  at  every  step,  with  his  few  companions  becoming  still 
fewer  by  disease  and  death,  and  yet  pressing  on  with  uncon- 
querable spirit  to  extend  the  empire  of  Castile  and  the  name 
and  power  of  her  sovereign ; but  when  he  painted  his  lonely 
condition  on  the  desolate  island,  abandoned  by  the  govern- 
ment at  home,  deserted  by  all  but  a handful  of  devoted  fol- 
lowers, his  royal  auditor,  though  not  easily  moved,  was  affected 
to  tears.  On  his  departure  from  Toledo,  Charles  commended 
the  affairs  of  his  vassal  in  the  most  favorable  terms  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  Council  of  the  Indies.1 

There  was  at  this  time  another  man  at  court,  who  had  come 
there  on  a similar  errand  from  the  New  World,  but  whose 
splendid  achievements  had  already  won  for  him  a name  that 
threw  the  rising  reputation  of  Pizarro  comparatively  into  the 
shade.  This  man  was  Hernando  Cortes,  the  Conqueror  of 
Mexico.  He  had  come  home  to  lay  an  empire  at  the  feet  of 
his  sovereign,  and  to  demand  in  return  the  redress  of  his 
wrongs  and  the  recompense  of  his  great  services.  He  was  at 
the  close  of  his  career,  as  Pizarro  was  at  the  commencement 
of  his ; the  Conqueror  of  the  North  and  of  the  South ; the 
two  men  appointed  by  Providence  to  overturn  the  most  potent 
of  the  Indian  dynasties,  and  to  open  the  golden  gates  by 
which  the  treasures  of  the  New  World  were  to  pass  into  the 
coffers  of  Spain. 

Notwithstanding  the  emperor’s  recommendation,  the  busi- 

1 Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Naharro,  Relacion  sumaria,  MS. — Conq.  i 
Pob.  del  Piru,  MS. — “ Hablaba  tan  bien  en  la  materia,  que  se  llevd  los  aplausos  y atencion 
en  Toledo  donde  el  Emperador  estaba,  diole  audiencia  con  mucho  gusto,  tratolo  amoroso, 
y oyole  tierno,  especialmente  cuando  le  hizo  relacion  de  su  consistencia  y de  los  trece  com* 
pafieros  en  la  Isla  en  medio  de  tantos  trabajos.”  Montesinos,  Annalos,  MS.,  ano  1528. 


chap,  i.j  HIS  CAPITULATION  WITH  THE  CLOWN.  229 

ness  of  Pizarro  went  forward  at  the  tardy  pace  with  which 
affairs  are  usually  conducted  in  the  court  of  Castile.  He 
found  his  limited  means  gradually  sinking  under  the  expenses 
incurred  by  his  present  situation,  and  he  represented  that  un- 
less some  measures  were  speedily  taken  in  reference  to  his  suit, 
however  favorable  they  might  be  in  the  end,  he  should  be  in 
no  condition  to  profit  by  them.  The  queen,  accordingly,  who 
had  charge  of  the  business,  on  her  husband’s  departure,  expe- 
dited the  affair,  and  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  July,  1529,  she  ex- 
ecuted the  memorable  Capitulation  which  defined  the  powers 
and  privileges  of  Pizarro. 

The  instrument  secured  to  that  chief  the  right  of  discovery 
and  conquest  in  the  province  of  Peru,  or  New  Castile — as  the 
country  was  then  called,  in  the  same  manner  as  Mexico  had  re- 
ceived the  name  of  New  Spain — for  the  distance  of  two  hun- 
dred leagues  south  of  Santiago.  He  was  to  receive  the  titles 
and  rank  of  Governor  and  Captain-General  of  the  province, 
together  with  those  of  Adelantado  and  Alguacil  Mayor,  for 
life  ; and  he  was  to  have  a salary  of  seven  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  thousand  maravedis,  with  the  obligation  of  maintaining 
certain  officers  and  military  retainers,  corresponding  with  the 
dignity  of  his  station.  He  was  to  have  the  right  to  erect 
certain  fortresses,  with  the  absolute  government  of  them  ; to 
assign  encomiendas  of  Indians,  under  the  limitations  prescribed 
by  law  ; and,  in  fine,  to  exercise  nearly  all  the  prerogatives  in- 
cident to  the  authority  of  a viceroy. 

His  associate,  Almagro,  was  declared  commander  of  the 
fortress  of  Tumbez,  with  an  annual  rent  of  three  hundred 
thousand  maravedis,  and  with  the  further  rank  and  privileges 
of  an  hidalgo.  The  reverend  Father  Luque  received  the  re- 
ward of  his  services  in  the  bishopric  of  Tumbez,  and  he  was 
also  declared  Protector  of  the  Indians  of  Peru.  He  was  to 
enjoy  the  yearly  stipend  of  a thousand  ducats — to  be  derived, 
like  the  other  salaries  and  gratuities  in  this  instrument,  from 
the  revenues  of  the  conquered  territory. 

Nor  were  the  subordinate  actors  in  the  expedition  forgotten. 
Ruiz  received  the  title  of  Grand  Pilot  of  the  Southern  Ocean, 


230 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


with  a liberal  provision  ; Candia  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
artillery ; and  the  remaining  eleven  companions  on  the  deso- 
late island  were  created  hidalgos  and  cavalleros,  and  raised  to 
certain  municipal  dignities — in  prospect. 

Several  provisions  of  a liberal  tenor  were  also  made,  to  en- 
courage emigration  to  the  country.  The  new  settlers  were  to 
be  exempted  from  some  of  the  most  onerous  but  customary 
taxes,  as  the  alcabala , or  to  be  subject  to  them  only  in  a miti- 
gated form.  The  tax  on  the  precious  metals  drawn  from  mines 
was  to  be  reduced,  at  first,  to  one-tenth,  instead  of  the  fifth 
imposed  on  the  same  metals  when  obtained  by  barter  or  b) 
rapine. 

It  was  expressly  enjoined  on  Pizarro  to  observe  the  existing 
regulations  for  the  good  government  and  protection  of  the  na- 
tives ; and  he  was  required  to  carry  out  with  him  a specified 
number  of  ecclesiastics,  with  whom  he  was  to  take  counsel  in 
the  conquest  of  the  country,  and  whose  efforts  were  to  be  ded- 
icated to  the  service  and  conversion  of  the  Indians ; while 
lawyers  and  attorneys,  on  the  other  hand,  whose  presence  was 
considered  as  boding  ill  to  the  harmony  of  the  new  settle- 
ments, were  strictly  prohibited  from  setting  foot  in  them. 

Pizarro,  on  his  part,  was  bound,  in  six  months  from  the  date 
of  the  instrument,  to  raise  a force,  well  equipped  for  the  ser- 
vice, of  two  hundred  and  fifty  men,  of  whom  one  hundred 
might  be  drawn  from  the  colonies,  and  the  government  en- 
gaged to  furnish  some  trifling  assistance  in  the  purchase  of 
artillery  and  military  stores.  Finally,  he  was  to  be  prepared, 
in  six  months  after  his  return  to  Panama,  to  leave  that  port 
and  embark  on  his  expedition.2 

Such  are  some  of  the  principal  provisions  of  this  Capitulation, 
by  which  the  Castilian  government,  with  the  sagacious  policy 
which  it  usually  pursued  on  the  like  occasions,  stimulated  the 
ambitious  hopes  of  the  adventurer  by  high-sounding  titles  and 
liberal  promises  of  reward  contingent  on  his  success,  but  took 

5 This  remarkable  document,  formerly  in  the  archives  of  Simancas,  and  now  transferred 
to  the  Archivo  General  de  las  Indias  in  Seville,  was  transcribed  for  the  rich  collection  of 
the  late  Don  Martin  Fernandez  de  Navarrete,  to  whose  kindness  I am  indebted  for  a copy 
of  it.  It  will  be  found  printed  entire,  in  the  original,  in  Appendix  No.  7. 


chap,  i.]  HIS  CAPITULATION  WITH  THE  CP  OWN.  23 1 


care  to  stake  nothing  itself  on  the  issue  of  the  enterprise.  It 
was  careful  to  reap  the  fruits  of  his  toil,  but  not  to  pay  the 
cost  of  them. 

A circumstance  that  could  not  fail  to  be  remarked  in  these 
provisions  was  the  manner  in  which  the  high  and  lucrative 
posts  were  §ccumulated  on  Pizarro,  to  the  exclusion  of  Alma- 
gro, who,  if  he  had  not  taken  as  conspicuous  a part  in  personal 
toil  and  exposure,  had  at  least  divided  with  him  the  original 
burden  of  the  enterprise,  and,  by  his  labors  in  another  direc- 
tion, had  contributed  quite  as  essentially  to  its  success.  Alma- 
gro  had  willingly  conceded  the  post  of  honor  to  his  confeder- 
ate ; but  it  had  been  stipulated,  on  Pizarro’ s departure  for 
Spain,  that,  while  he  solicited  the  office  of  Governor  and  Cap- 
tain-General for  himself,  he  should  secure  that  of  Adelantado 
for  his  companion.  In  like  manner,  he  had  engaged  to  apply 
for  the  see  of  Tumbez  for  the  vicar  of  Panama,  and  the  office 
of  Alguacil  Mayor  for  the  pilot  Ruiz.  The  bishopric  took  the 
direction  that  was  concerted,  for  the  soldier  could  scarcely 
claim  the  mitre  of  the  prelate  ; but  the  other  offices,  instead  of 
their  appropriate  distribution,  were  all  concentred  in  himself. 
Yet  it  was  in  reference  to  his  application  for  his  friends  that 
Pizarro  had  promised  on  his  departure  to  deal  fairly  and  hon- 
orably by  them  all.3 

It  is  stated  by  the  military  chronicler,  Pedro  Pizarro,  that 
his  kinsman  did,  in  fact,  urge  the  suit  strongly  in  behalf  of 
Almagro,  but  that  he  was  refused  by  the  government,  on  the 
ground  that  offices  of  such  paramount  importance  could  not  be 
committed  to  different  individuals.  The  ill  effects  of  such  an 
arrangement  had  been  long  since  felt  in  more  than  one  of  the 
Indian  colonies,  where  it  had  led  to  rivalry  and  fatal  collision.4 

9 “ A1  fin  se  capitulo,  que  Francisco  Pigarro  negociase  la  Govemacion  para  si  : i para 
Diego  de  Almagro,  el  Adelantamiento  : i para  Hernando  de  Luque,  el  Obispado  : i para 
Bartolomd  Ruiz,  el  Alguacilazgo  Maior : i Mercedes  para  los  que  quedaban  vivos,  de  los 
trece  Companeros,  afirmando  siempre  Francisco  Pigarro,  que  todo  lo  queria  para  ellos,  i 
promeriendo,  que  negociaria  lealmente,  i sin  ninguna  cautela.”  Herrera,  Hist,  general, 
dec.  4,  lib.  3,  cap.  1. 

4 “ Y don  Francisco  Pigarro  pidio  conforme  k lo  que  Uevava  capitulado  y hordenado  con 
sus  compafieros  ya  dicho,  y en  el  consejo  se  le  rrespondio  que  no  avia  lugar  de  dar  gover- 
nacion  k dos  companeros,  k caussa  de  que  en  santa  marta  se  avia  dado  ansi  k dos  compafieros 
y el  uno  avia  muerto  al  otro.  . . . Pues  pedido,  como  digo,  muohas  vezes  por  don 


232 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU 


[BOOK  III. 


Pizarro,  therefore,  finding  his  remonstrances  unheeded,  had  no 
alternative  but  to  combine  the  offices  in  his  own  person,  or  to 
see  the  expedition  fall  to  the  ground.  This  explanation  of  the 
affair  has  not  received  the  sanction  of  other  contemporary  his- 
torians. The  apprehensions  expressed  by  Luque,  at  the  time 
of  Pizarro’s  assuming  the  mission,  of  some  such  result  as  act- 
ually occurred,  founded,  doubtless,  on  a knowledge  of  his  asso- 
ciate’s character,  may  warrant  us  in  distrusting  the  alleged 
vindication  of  his  conduct ; and  our  distrust  will  not  be  dimin- 
ished by  familiarity  with  his  subsequent  career.  Pizarro’s 
virtue  was  not  of  a kind  to  withstand  temptation — though  of 
a much  weaker  sort  than  that  now  thrown  in  his  path. 

The  fortunate  cavalier  was  also  honored  with  the  habit  of 
St.  Jago ; 6 and  he  was  authorized  to  make  an  important  inno- 
vation in  his  family  escutcheon — for  by  the  father’s  side  he 
might  claim  his  armorial  bearings.  The  black  eagle  and  the 
two  pillars  emblazoned  on  the  royal  arms  were  incorporated 
with  those  of  the  Pizarros ; and  an  Indian  city,  with  a vessel 
in  the  distance  on  the  waters,  and  the  llama  of  Peru,  revealed 
the  theatre  and  the  character  of  his  exploits  ; while  the  legend 
announced  that  “ under  the  auspices  of  Charles,  and  by  the  in- 
dustry, the  genius,  and  the  resources  of  Pizarro,  the  country 
had  been  discovered  and  reduced  to  tranquillity  ” — thus  mod- 
estly intimating  both  the  past  and  prospective  services  of  the 
Conqueror.6 

These  arrangements  having  been  thus  completed  to  Pizarro’s 
satisfaction,  he  left  Toledo  for  Truxillo,  his  native  place,  in 
Estremadura,  where  he  thought  he  should  be  most  likely  to 
meet  with  adherents  for  his  new  enterprise,  and  where  it  doubt- 
less gratified  his  vanity  to  display  himself  in  the  palmy,  or  at 
least  promising,  state  of  his  present  circumstances.  If  vanity 

Francisco  Pigarro  se  les  hiziese  la  merced  a ambos  companeros,  se  le  rrespondio  la  pidiesse 
parassi  sino  que  se  daria  a otro,  y visto  que  no  avia  lugar  lo  que  pedia  y queria  pedio  se  le 
hiziese  la  merced  a el,  y ansi  se  le  hizo.”  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 

6 Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  182. — Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS., 
Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  1.  Caro  de  Torres,  Historia  de  las  Ordenes  militates  (ed.  Madrid, 
1629),  p.  ri3. 

9 “Caroli  Csesaris  auspicio,  et  labore,  ingenio,  ac  impensa  Ducis  Pigarro  inventa,  et 
pacata.”  Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  4,  lib.  6,  cap.  5. 


CHAP.  I.] 


HE  VISITS  HIS  BIRTHPLACE. 


233 


be  ever  pardonable,  it  is  certainly  in  a man  who,  born  in  an 
obscure  station  in  life,  without  family,  interest,  or  friends  to 
back  him,  has  carved  out  his  own  fortunes  in  the  world,  and, 
by  his  own  resources,  triumphed  over  all  the  obstacles  which 
nature  and  accident  had  thrown  in  his  way.  Such  was  the 
condition  of  Pizarro  as  he  now  revisited  the  place  of  his  nativ- 
ity, where  he  had  hitherto  been  known  only  as  a poor  outcast, 
without  a home  to  shelter,  a father  to  own  him,  or  a friend  to 
lean  upon.  But  he  now  found  both  friends  and  followers,  and 
some  who  were  eager  to  claim  kindred  with  him  and  take  part 
in  his  future  fortunes.  Among  these  were  four  brothers. 
Three  of  them,  like  himself,  were  illegitimate — one  of  whom, 
named  Francisco  Martin  de  Alcantara,  was  related  to  him  by 
the  mother’s  side,  the  other  two,  named  Gonzalo  and  Juan 
Pizarro,  were  descended  from  the  father.  “ They  were  all 
poor,  and  proud  as  they  were  poor,”  says  Oviedo,  who  had 
seen  them ; ‘ 4 and  their  eagerness  for  gain  was  in  proportion  to 
their  poverty.”  7 

The  remaining  and  eldest  brother,  named  Hernando,  was  a 
legitimate  son — “ legitimate,”  continues  the  same  caustic  au- 
thority, 4 4 by  his  pride,  as  well  as  by  his  birth.”  His  features 
were  plain,  even  disagreeably  so ; but  his  figure  was  good. 
He  was  large  of  stature,  and,  like  his  brother  Francis,  had  on 
the  whole  an  imposing  presence.8  In  his  character  he  com- 
bined some  of  the  worst  defects  incident  to  the  Castilian.  He 
was  jealous  in  the  extreme  ; impatient,  not  merely  of  affront, 
but  of  the  least  slight,  and  implacable  in  his  resentment.  He 
was  decisive  in  his  measures,  and  unscrupulous  in  their  execu- 
tion. No  touch  of  pity  had  power  to  arrest  his  arm.  His 
arrogance  was  such  that  he  was  constantly  wounding  the  self- 
love  of  those  with  whom  he  acted ; thus  begetting  an  ill  will 
& 

7 “ Trujo  tres  o cuatro  hermanos  suyos  tan  soberbios  como  pobres,  e tan  sin  hacienda 
coroo  deseosos  de  alcanzarla.”  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  1. 

8 Oviedo’s  portrait  of  him  is  by  no  means  flattering.  He  writes  like  one  too  familiar  with 
the  original.  “ £ de  todos  ellos  el  Hernando  Pizarro  solo  era  legitimo,  e mas  legitimado 
en  la  soberbia,  hombre  de  alta  estatura  e grueso,  la  lengua  e labios  gordos,  e la  punta  de 
la  nariz  con  sobrada  came  £ encendida,  y este  fue  el  desavenidor  y estorbador  del  sosiego 
de  todos  y en  especial  de  los  dos  viejos  companeros  Francisco  Pizarro  e Diego  de  Almagro.” 
Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  ubi  supra. 


234 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU 


[BOOK  III. 


which  unnecessarily  multiplied  obstacles  in  his  path.  In  this 
he  differed  from  his  brother  Francis,  whose  plausible  manners 
smoothed  away  difficulties  and  conciliated  confidence  and  co- 
operation in  his  enterprises.  Unfortunately,  the  evil  counsels 
of  Hernando  exercised  an  influence  over  his  brother  which 
more  than  compensated  the  advantages  derived  from  his  sin- 
gular capacity  for  business. 

Notwithstanding  the  general  interest  which  Pizarro’s  adven- 
tures excited  in  his  country,  that  chief  did  not  find  it  easy  to 
comply  with  the  provisions  of  the  Capitulation  in  respect  to 
the  amount  of  his  levies.  Those  who  were  most  astonished  by 
his  narrative  were  not  always  most  inclined  to  take  part  in  his 
fortunes.  They  shrank  from  the  unparalleled  hardships  which 
lay  in  the  path  of  the  adventurer  in  that  direction  ; and  they 
listened  with  visible  distrust  to  the  gorgeous  pictures  of  the 
golden  temples  and  gardens  of  Tumbez,  which  they  looked 
upon  as  indebted  in  some  degree,  at  least,  to  the  coloring  of 
his  fancy,  with  the  obvious  purpose  of  attracting  followers  to 
his  banner.  It  is  even  said  that  Pizarro  would  have  found  it 
difficult  to  raise  the  necessary  funds,  but  for  the  seasonable  aid 
of  Cortes,  a native  of  Estremadura  like  himself,  his  companion 
in  arms  in  early  days,  and,  according  to  report,  his  kinsman.9 
No  one  was  in  a better  condition  to  hold  out  a helping  hand 
to  a brother  adventurer,  and  probably  no  one  felt  greater  sym- 
pathy in  Pizarro’s  fortunes,  or  greater  confidence  in  his  event- 
ual success,  than  the  man  who  had  so  lately  trod  the  same 
career  with  renown. 

The  six  months  allowed  by  the  Capitulation  had  elapsed, 
and  Pizarro  had  assembled  somewhat  less  than  his  stipulated 
complement  of  men,  with  which  he  was  preparing  to  embark 
in  a little  squadron  of  three  vessels  at  Seville  ; but  before  they 
were  wholly  ready  he  received  intelligence  that  the  officers  of 
the  Council  of  the  Indies  proposed  to  inquire  into  the  condi- 
tion of  the  vessels  and  ascertain  how  far  the  requisitions  had 
been  complied  with. 

Without  loss  of  time,  therefore,  Pizarro,  afraid,  if  the  facts 

9 Pizarro  y Orellana,  Varones  ilustres,  p.  143. 


chap,  i.)  RETURNS  TO  THE  NEW  WORLD. 


235 


were  known,  that  his  enterprise  might  be  nipped  in  the  bud, 
slipped  his  cables,  and,  crossing  the  bar  of  San  Lucar,  in  Jan 
uary,  1530,  stood  for  the  isle  of  Gomera — one  of  the  Canaries 
— where  he  ordered  his  brother  Hernando,  who  had  charge  of 
the  remaining  vessels,  to  meet  him. 

Scarcely  had  he  gone,  before  the  officers  arrived  to  institute 
the  search.  But  when  they  objected  the  deficiency  of  men 
they  were  easily — perhaps  willingly — deceived  by  the  pretext 
that  the  remainder  had  gone  forward  in  the  vessel  withPizarro. 
At  all  events,  no  further  obstacles  were  thrown  in  Hernando’s 
way,  and  he  was  permitted,  with  the  rest  of  the  squadron,  to 
join  his  brother,  according  to  agreement,  at  Gomera. 

After  a prosperous  voyage,  the  adventurers  reached  the 
northern  coast  of  the  great  southern  continent,  and  anchored 
off  the  port  of  Santa  Marta.  Here  they  received  such  dis- 
couraging reports  of  the  countries  to  which  they  were  bound, 
of  forests  teeming  with  insects  and  venomous  serpents,  of  huge 
alligators  that  swarmed  on  the  banks  of  the  streams,  and  of 
hardships  and  perils  such  as  their  own  fears  had  never  painted, 
that  several  of  Pizarro’s  men  deserted,  and  their  leader,  think- 
ing it  no  longer  safe  to  abide  in  such  treacherous  quarters,  set 
sail  at  once  for  Nombre  de  Dios. 

Soon  after  his  arrival  there,  he  was  met  by  his  two  asso- 
ciates, Luque  and  Almagro,  who  had  crossed  the  mountains 
for  the  purpose  of  hearing  from  his  own  lips  the  precise  import 
of  the  Capitulation  with  the  crown.  Great,  as  might  have 
been  expected,  was  Almagro ’s  discontent  at  learning  the 
result  of  what  he  regarded  as  the  perfidious  machinations  of 
his  associate.  “ Is  it  thus,”  he  exclaimed,  “that  you  have 
dealt  with  the  friend  who  shared  equally  with  you  in  the  trials, 
the  dangers,  and  the  cost  of  the  enterprise,  and  this,  notwith- 
standing your  solemn  engagements  on  your  departure  to  pro- 
vide for  his  interests  as  faithfully  as  your  own  ? How  could 
you  allow  me  to  be  thus  dishonored  in  the  eyes  of  the  world 
by  so  paltry  a compensation,  which  seems  to  estimate  my 
services  as  nothing  in  comparison  with  your  own  ? ” 10 

10  Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  4,  lib.  7,  cap.  9.— Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 


236 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


Pizarro,  in  reply,  assured  his  companion  that  he  had  faith- 
fully urged  his  suit,  but  that  the  government  refused  to  con- 
fide powers  which  intrenched  so  closely  on  one  another  to 
different  hands.  He  had  no  alternative  but  to  accept  all  him- 
self or  to  decline  all ; and  he  endeavored  to  mitigate  Almagro’s 
displeasure  by  representing  that  the  country  was  large  enough 
for  the  ambition  of  both,  and  that  the  powers  conferred  on 
himself  were,  in  fact,  conferred  on  Almagro,  since  all  that  he 
had  would  ever  be  at  his  friend’s  disposal,  as  if  it  were  his 
own.  But  these  honeyed  words  did  not  satisfy  the  injured 
party ; and  the  two  captains  soon  after  returned  to  Panama 
with  feelings  of  estrangement,  if  not  hostility,  toward  one 
another,  which  did  not  augur  well  for  their  enterprise. 

Still,  Almagro  was  of  a generous  temper,  and  might  have 
been  appeased  by  the  politic  concessions  of  his  rival,  but  for 
the  interference  of  Hernando  Pizarro,  who,  from  the  first  hour 
of  their  meeting,  showed  little  respect  for  the  veteran,  which, 
indeed,  the  diminutive  person  of  the  latter  was  not  calculated 
to  inspire,  and  who  now  regarded  him  with  particular  aversion 
as  an  impediment  to  the  career  of  his  brother. 

Almagro’s  friends — and  his  frank  and  liberal  manners  had 
secured  him  many — were  no  less  disgusted  than  himself  with 
the  overbearing  conduct  of  this  new  ally.  They  loudly  com- 
plained that  it  was  quite  enough  to  suffer  from  the  perfidy  of 
Pizarro,  without  being  exposed  to  the  insults  of  his  family, 
who  had  now  come  over  with  him  to  fatten  on  the  spoils  of 
conquest  which  belonged  to  their  leader.  The  rupture  soon 
proceeded  to  such  a length  that  Almagro  avowed  his  intention 
to  prosecute  the  expedition  without  further  co-operation  with 
his  partner,  and  actually  entered  into  negotiations  for  the  pur- 
chase of  vessels  for  that  object.  But  Luque,  and  the  Licentiate 
Espinosa,  who  had  fortunately  come  over  at  that  time  from  St. 
Domingo,  now  interposed  to  repair  a breach  which  must  end 
in  the  ruin  of  the  enterprise  and  the  probable  destruction  of 
those  most  interested  in  its  success.  By  their  mediation,  a 
show  of  reconciliation  was  at  length  effected  between  the 
parties,  on  Pizarro’ s assurance  that  he  would  relinquish  the 


CHAP.  I.] 


DIFFICULTIES  WITH  ALMAGRO. 


237 


dignity  of  Adelantado  in  favor  of  his  rival,  and  petition  the 
emperor  to  confirm  him  in  the  possession  of  it — an  assurance, 
it  may  be  remarked,  not  easy  to  reconcile  with  his  former 
assertion  in  respect  to  the  avowed  policy  of  the  crown  in  be- 
stowing this  office.  He  was,  moreover,  to  apply  for  a distinct 
government  for  his  associate,  so  soon  as  he  had  become  master 
of  the  country  assigned  to  himself,  and  was  to  solicit  no  office 
for  either  of  his  own  brothers  until  Almagro  had  been  first  pro- 
vided for.  Lastly,  the  former  contract  in  regard  to  the  di- 
vision of  the  spoil  into  three  equal  shares  between  the  three 
original  associates,  was  confirmed  in  the  most  explicit  manner. 
The  reconciliation  thus  effected  among  the  parties  answered 
the  temporary  purpose  of  enabling  them  to  go  forward  in  con- 
cert in  the  expedition.  But  it  was  only  a thin  scar  that  had 
healed  over  the  wound,  which,  deep  and  rankling  within, 
waited  only  fresh  cause  of  irritation  to  break  out  with  a viru- 
lence more  fatal  than  ever.”  11 

No  time  was  now  lost  in  preparing  for  the  voyage.  It  found 
little  encouragement,  however,  among  the  colonists  of  Panama, 
who  were  too  familiar  with  the  sufferings  on  the  former  ex- 
peditions to  care  to  undertake  another,  even  with  the  rich 
bribe  that  was  held  out  to  allure  them.  A few  of  the  old  com- 
pany were  content  to  follow  out  the  adventure  to  its  close  ; 
and  some  additional  stragglers  were  collected  from  the  province 
of  Nicaragua — a shoot,  it  may  be  remarked,  from  the  colony 
of  Panama.  But  Pizarro  made  slender  additions  to  the  force 
brought  over  with  him  from  Spain,  though  this  body  was  in 
better  condition,  and,  in  respect  to  arms,  ammunition,  and 
equipment  generally,  was  on  a much  better  footing  than  his 
former  levies.  The  whole  number  did  not  exceed  one  hundred 
and  eighty  men,  with  twenty-seven  horses  for  the  cavalry.  He 

11  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  yConq.,  MS. — Naharro,  Relacion  sumaria,  MS. — Montesinos, 
Annales,  MS.,  ano  1529. — Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. — Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  lib. 
1,  cap.  3. — Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  x. — There  seems  to  have 
been  little  good  will,  at  bottom,  between  any  of  the  confederates  ; for  Father  Luque  wrote 
to  Oviedo  that  both  of  his  partners  had  repaid  his  services  with  ingratitude  : “ Padre  Luque, 
compafiero  de  estos  Capitanes,  con  cuya  hacienda  hicieron  ellos  sus  hechos,  puesto  que  el 
uno  6 el  otro  se  lo  pagaron  con  ingratitud  segun  £ mi  me  lo  escribid  el  mismo  electo  de  su 
mano.”  Ibid.,  loc.  cit. 


238 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


had  provided  himself  with  three  vessels,  two  of  them  of  a good 
size,  to  take  the  place  of  those  which  he  had  been  compelled 
to  leave  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Isthmus  at  Nombre  de 
Dios ; an  armament  small  for  the  conquest  of  an  empire,  and 
far  short  of  that  prescribed  by  the  Capitulation  with  the  crown. 
With  this  the  intrepid  chief  proposed  to  commence  operations, 
trusting  to  his  own  successes,  and  the  exertions  of  Almagro, 
who  was  to  remain  behind  for  the  present,  to  muster  reinforce- 
ments.12 

On  St.  John  the  Evangelist’s  day,  the  banners  of  the  com- 
pany and  the  royal  standard  were  consecrated  in  the  cathedral 
church  of  Panama ; a sermon  was  preached  before  the  little 
army  by  Fray  Juan  de  Vargas,  one  of  the  Dominicans 
selected  by  the  government  for  the  Peruvian  mission  ; and 
mass  was  performed,  and  the  sacrament  administered  to  every 
soldier  previous  to  his  engaging  in  the  crusade  against  the  in- 
fidel.13 Having  thus  solemnly  invoked  the  blessing  of  Heaven 
on  the  enterprise,  Pizarro  and  his  followers  went  on  board  their 
vessels,  which  rode  at  anchor  in  the  Bay  of  Panama,  and  early 
in  January,  1531,  sallied  forth  on  his  third  and  last  expedition 
for  the  conquest  of  Peru. 

It  was  his  intention  to  steer  direct  for  Tumbez,  which  held 
out  so  magnificent  a show  of  treasure  on  his  former  voyage. 
But  head-winds  and  currents,  as  usual,  baffled  his  purpose,  and 
after  a run  of  thirteen  days,  much  shorter  than  the  period 
formerly  required  for  the  same  distance,  his  little  squadron 
came  to  anchor  in  the  Bay  of  St.  Matthew,  about  one  degree 
north  ; and  Pizarro,  after  consulting  with  his  officers,  resolved 
to  disembark  his  forces  and  advance  along  the  coast,  while  the 
vessels  held  their  course  at  a convenient  distance  from  the 
shore. 

12  The  numerical  estimates  differ,  as  usual.  I conform  to  the  statement  of  Pizarro’ s secre- 
tary, Xeres,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  182. 

13  “El  qual  haviendo  hecho  bendecir  en  la  Iglesia  mayor  las  banderas  i estandarte  real 
dia  de  San  Juan  Evangelista  de  dicho  ano  de  1530,  i que  todos  los  soldados  confesasen  i 
comulgasen  en  el  convento  de  Nuestra  Sefiora  de  la  Merced,  dia  de  los  Inocentes  en  la 
misa  cantada  que  se  celebrd  con  toda  solemnidad  i sermon  que  predic6  el  P.  Present*10  Fr. 
Juan  de  Vargas,  uno  de  los  5 religiosos  que  en  cumplimiento  de  la  obediencia  de  sus  pre- 
ladoa  i orden  del  Emperador  pasaban  d la  conquista.”  Naharro,  Relacion  suraaria,  MS. 


CHAP.  I.] 


HIS  THIRD  EXPEDITION. 


239 


The  march  of  the  troops  was  severe  and  painful  in  the  ex- 
treme ; for  the  road  was  constantly  intersected  by  streams, 
which,  swollen  by  the  winter  rains,  widened  at  their  mouths 
into  spacious  estuaries.  Pizarro,  who  had  some  previous 
knowledge  of  the  country,  acted  as  guide  as  well  as  commander 
of  the  expedition.  He  was  ever  ready  to  give  aid  where  it  was 
needed,  encouraging  his  followers  to  ford  or  swim  the  torrents 
as  they  best  could,  and  cheering  the  desponding  by  his  own 
buoyant  and  courageous  spirit. 

At  length  they  reached  a thick-settled  hamlet,  or  rather 
town,  in  the  province  of  Coaque.  The  Spaniards  rushed  on 
the  place,  and  the  inhabitants,  without  offering  resistance,  fled 
in  terror  to  the  neighboring  forests,  leaving  their  effects — of 
much  greater  value  than  had  been  anticipated — in  the  hands 
of  the  invaders.  “ We  fell  on  them,  sword  in  hand,”  says  one 
of  the  Conquerors,  with  some  naivete  ; “ for  if  we  had  advised 
the  Indians  of  our  approach  we  should  never  have  found  there 
such  store  of  gold  and  precious  stones.”  14  The  natives,  how- 
ever, according  to  another  authority,  stayed  voluntarily ; 
“for,  as  they  had  done  no  harm  to  the  white  men,  they 
flattered  themselves  none  would  be  offered  to  them,  but  that 
there  would  be  only  an  interchange  of  good  offices  with  the 
strangers”15 — an  expectation  founded,  it  may  be,  on  the 
good  character  which  the  Spaniards  had  established  for  them- 
selves on  their  preceding  visit,  but  one  in  which  the  simple 
people  now  found  themselves  most  unpleasantly  deceived. 

Rushing  into  the  deserted  dwellings,  the  invaders  found 
there,  besides  stuffs  of  various  kinds,  and  food  most  welcome 
in  their  famished  condition,  a large  quantity  of  gold  and  silver 
wrought  into  clumsy  ornaments,  together  with  many  precious 
stones  ; for  this  was  the  region  of  the  esmeraldas,  or  emeralds, 
where  that  valuable  gem  was  most  abundant.  One  of  these 
jewels,  that  fell  into  the  hands  of  Pizarro  in  this  neighborhood, 
was  as  large  as  a pigeon’s  egg.  Unluckily,  his  rude  followers 

14  “ Pues  llegados  a este  pueblo  de  Coaque  dieron  de  supito  sin  savello  la  gente  del  porque 
si  estuvieran  avisados,  no  se  tomara  la  cantidad  de  oro  y esmeraldas  que  en  el  se  tomaron.” 
Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 

16  Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  4,  lib.  7,  cap.  9. 


240 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  lit 


did  not  know  the  value  of  their  prize ; and  they  broke  many 
of  them  in  pieces  by  pounding  them  with  hammers.16  They 
were  led  to  this  extraordinary  proceeding,  it  is  said,  by  one  of 
the  Dominican  missionaries,  Fray  Reginaldo  de  Pedraza,  who 
assured  them  that  this  was  the  way  to  prove  the  true  emerald, 
which  could  not  be  broken.  It  was  observed  that  the  good 
father  did  not  subject  his  own  jewels  to  this  wise  experiment ; 
but,  as  the  stones,  in  consequence  of  it,  fell  in  value,  being  re- 
garded merely  as  colored  glass,  he  carried  back  a considerable 
store  of  them  to  Panama.17 

The  gold  and  silver  ornaments  rifled  from  the  dwellings  were 
brought  together  and  deposited  in  a common  heap ; when  a 
fifth  was  deducted  for  the  crown,  and  Pizarro  distributed  the 
remainder  in  due  proportions  among  the  officers  and  privates  of 
his  company.  This  was  the  usage  invariably  observed  on  the 
like  occasions  throughout  the  Conquest.  The  invaders  had 
embarked  in  a common  adventure.  Their  interest  was  com- 
mon, and  to  have  allowed  everyone  to  plunder  on  his  own  ac- 
count would  only  have  led  to  insubordination  and  perpetual 
broils.  All  were  required,  therefore,  on  pain  of  death,  to  con- 
tribute whatever  they  obtained,  whether  by  bargain  or  by  ra- 
pine, to  the  general  stock ; and  all  were  too  much  interested 
in  the  execution  of  the  penalty  to  allow  the  unhappy  culprit 
who  violated  the  law  any  chance  of  escape.18 

Pizzaro,  with  his  usual  policy,  sent  back  to  Panama  a large 
quantity  of  the  gold,  no  less  than  twenty  thousand  Castellanos 
in  value,  in  the  belief  that  the  sight  of  so  much  treasure,  thus 
speedily  acquired,  would  settle  the  doubts  of  the  wavering  and 

16  Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. — Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  lib.  i,  cap.  4. — “A  lo  que 
se  ha  entendido  en  las  esmeraldas  ovo  gran  hierro  y torpedad  en  algunas  Personas  por  no 
conoscellas.  Aunque  quieren  decir  que  algunos  que  las  conoscieron  las  guardaron.  Pero 
ffinalmente  muchos  vbieron  esmeraldas  de  mucho  valor  ; vnos  las  provavan  en  yunquesr 
dandolas  con  martillos,  diziendo  que  si  hera  esmeralda  no  se  quebraria  ; otros  las  despre- 
ciaban,  diziendo  que  era  vidrio.”  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 

17  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  4,  lib.  7,  cap.  9. 

18  Los  Espanoles  las  rrecoxeron  y juntaron  el  oro  y la  plata,  porque  asi  estava  mandado 
y hordenado  sopena  de  la  vida  el  que  otra  cossa  hiziese,  porque  todos  lo  avian  de  traer  A 
monton  para  que  de  alii  el  governador  lo  rrepartiese,  dando  A cada  uno  confforme  A su  per- 
sona y meritos  de  servicios  ; y esta  horden  se  guardo  en  toda  esta  tierra  en  la  conquista 
della,  y al  que  se  le  hallara  oro  6 plata  escondido  muriera  por  ello,  y deste  medio  nadie  oso 
escondello.”  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 


CHAP.  I.] 


ADVENTURES  ON  THE  COAST. 


241 


decide  them  on  joining  his  banner.19  He  judged  right.  As 
one  of  the  Conquerors  piously  expresses  it,  “ It  pleased  the 
Lord  that  we  should  fall  in  with  the  town  of  Coaque,  that  the 
riches  of  the  land  might  find  credit  with  the  people,  and  that 
they  should  flock  to  it.”  20 

Pizarro,  having  refreshed  his  men,  continued  his  march  along 
the  coast,  but  no  longer  accompanied  by  the  vessels,  which  had 
returned  for  recruits  to  Panama.  The  road,  as  he  advanced, 
was  checkered  with  strips  of  sandy  waste,  which,  drifted  about 
by  the  winds,  blinded  the  soldiers,  and  afforded  only  treacher- 
ous footing  for  man  and  beast.  The  glare  was  intense ; and 
the  rays  of  a vertical  sun  beat  fiercely  on  the  iron  mail  and  the 
thick  quilted  doublets  of  cotton,  till  the  fainting  troops  were 
almost  suffocated  with  the  heat.  To  add  to  their  distresses,  a 
strange  epidemic  broke  out  in  the  little  army.  It  took  the 
form  of  ulcers,  or  rather  hideous  warts  of  great  size,  which  cov- 
ered the  body,  and  when  lanced,  as  was  the  case  with  some, 
discharged  such  a quantity  of  blood  as  proved  fatal  to  the  suf- 
ferer. Several  died  of  this  frightful  disorder,  which  was  so 
sudden  in  its  attack,  and  attended  with  such  prostration  of 
strength,  that  those  who  lay  down  well  at  night  were  unable  to 
lift  their  hands  to  their  heads  in  the  morning.21  The  epidemic, 
which  made  its  first  appearance  during  this  invasion,  and  which 
did  not  long  survive  it,  spread  over  the  country,  sparing  neither 
native  nor  white  man.22  It  was  one  of  those  plagues  from  the 
vial  of  wrath,  which  the  destroying  angel,  who  follows  in  the 
path  of  the  conqueror,  pours  out  on  the  devoted  nations. 

The  Spaniards  rarely  experienced  on  their  march  either  re- 
sistance or  annoyance  from  the  inhabitants,  who,  instructed  by 

19  The  booty  was  great,  indeed,  if,  as  Pedro  Pizarro,  one  of  the  Conquerors  present,  says, 
it  amounted  in  value  to  200,000  gold  Castellanos  : “ Aqui  se  hallo  mucha  chaquira  de  oro  y 
de  plata,  muchas  coronas  hechas  de  oro  a manera  de  imperiales,  y otras  muchas  piezas  en 
que  se  avaleo  montar  mas  de  dozientos  mill  Castellanos.”  (Descub.  y Conq.,  MS.)  Na- 
harro,  Montesinos,  and  Herrera  content  themselves  with  stating  that  he  sent  back  20,000 
Castellanos  in  the  vessels  to  Panamd. 

20  “ Fueron  a dar  en  vn  pueblo  que  se  dezia  Coaque  que  fue  nuestro  Senor  servido  tapasen 
con  el,  porque  con  lo  que  en  el  se  hallo  se  acredito  la  tierra  y vino  gente  a ella.”  Pedro 
Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 

21  Naharro,  Relacion  sumaria,  MS. — Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Mon- 
tesinos, Annales,  MS.,  ano  1530. 

22  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  2,  lib.  1,  cap.  15. 


242 


CONQUEST  QE  PERU. 


[BOOK  IIL 


the  example  of  Coaque,  fled  with  their  effects  into  the  woods 
and  neighboring  mountains.  No  one  came  out  to  welcome 
the  strangers  and  offer  the  rites  of  hospitality,  as  on  their  last 
visit  to  the  land.  For  the  white  men  were  no  longer  regarded 
as  good  beings  that  had  come  from  heaven,  but  as  ruthless  de- 
stroyers, who,  invulnerable  to  the  assaults  of  the  Indians,  were 
borne  along  on  the  backs  of  fierce  animals,  swifter  than  the 
wind,  with  weapons  in  their  hands  that  scattered  fire  and  des- 
olation as  they  went.  Such  were  the  stories  now  circulated  of 
the  invaders,  which,  preceding  them  everywhere  on  their  march, 
closed  the  hearts,  if  not  the  doors,  of  the  natives  against  them. 
Exhausted  by  the  fatigue  of  travel  and  by  disease,  and  griev- 
ously disappointed  at  the  poverty  of  the  land,  which  now  ofi 
fered  no  compensation  for  their  toils,  the  soldiers  of  Pizarro 
cursed  the  hour  in  which  they  had  enlisted  under  his  standard, 
and  the  men  of  Nicaragua  in  particular,  says  the  old  chronicler, 
calling  to  mind  their  pleasant  quarters  in  their  luxurious  land, 
sighed  only  to  return  to  their  Mahometan  paradise.23 

At  this  juncture  the  army  was  gladdened  by  the  sight  of  a 
vessel  from  Panama,  which  brought  some  supplies,  together 
with  the  royal  treasurer,  the  veedor  or  inspector,  the  comptrol- 
ler, and  other  high  officers  appointed  by  the  crown  to  attend 
the  expedition.  They  had  been  left  in  Spain  by  Pizarro,  in 
consequence  of  his  abrupt  departure  from  the  country  ; and  the 
Council  of  the  Indies,  on  learning  the  circumstance,  had  sent 
instructions  to  Panama  to  prevent  the  sailing  of  his  squadron 
from  that  port.  But  the  Spanish  Government,  with  more  wis- 
dom, countermanded  the  order,  only  requiring  the  functiona- 
ries to  quicken  their  own  departure  and  take  their  place  without 
loss  of  time  in  the  expedition. 

The  Spaniards  in  their  march  along  the  coast  had  now  ad- 
vanced as  far  as  Puerto  Viejo.  Here  they  were  soon  after 
joined  by  another  small  reinforcement  of  about  thirty  men, 
under  an  officer  named  Benalcazar,  who  subsequently  rose  to 

83  “ Aunque  ellos  no  ninguno  por  aver  venido,  porque  como  avian  dexado  el  paraisode 
mahoma  que  hera  Nicaragua  y hallaron  la  isla  alzada  y falta  de  comidas  y la  mayor  parte 
de  la  gente  enfferma  y no  oro  ni  plata  como  atras  avian  hallado,  algunos  y todos  se  hol- 
garan  de  volver  de  adonde  avian  venido.”  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 


chap,  i.]  ADVENTURES  ON  THE  COAST.  243 

high  distinction  in  this  service.  Many  of  the  followers  of  Pi- 
zarro  would  now  have  halted  at  this  spot  and  established  a col- 
ony there.  But  that  chief  thought  more  of  conquering  than  of 
colonizing,  at  least  for  the  present ; and  he  proposed,  as  his 
first  step,  to  get  possession  of  Tumbez,  which  he  regarded  as 
the  gate  of  the  Peruvian  empire.  Continuing  his  march, 
therefore,  to  the  shores  of  what  is  now  called  the  Gulf  of  Guay- 
aquil, he  arrived  off  the  little  island  of  Puna,  lying  at  no  great 
distance  from  the  Bay  of  Tumbez.  This  island,  he  thought, 
would  afford  him  a convenient  place  to  encamp  until  he  was 
prepared  to  make  his  descent  on  the  Indian  city. 

The  dispositions  of  the  islanders  seemed  to  favor  his  purpose. 
He  had  not  been  long  in  their  neighborhood  before  a deputa- 
tion of  the  natives,  with  their  cacique  at  their  head,  crossed 
over  in  their  balsas  to  the  main  land  to  welcome  the  Spaniards 
to  their  residence.  But  the  Indian  interpreters  of  Tumbez, 
who  had  returned  with  Pizarro  from  Spain,  and  continued  with 
the  camp,  put  their  master  on  his  guard  against  the  meditated 
treachery  of  the  islanders,  whom  they  accused  of  designing  to 
destroy  the  Spaniards  by  cutting  the  ropes  that  held  together 
the  floats  and  leaving  those  upon  them  to  perish  in  the  waters. 
Yet  the  cacique,  when  charged  by  Pizarro  with  this  perfidious 
scheme,  denied  it  with  such  an  air  of  conscious  innocence  that 
the  Spanish  commander  trusted  himself  and  his  followers,  with- 
out further  hesitation,  to  his  conveyance,  and  was  transported 
in  safety  to  the  shores  of  Puna. 

Here  he  was  received  in  a hospitable  manner,  and  his  troops 
were  provided  with  comfortable  quarters.  Well  satisfied  with 
his  present  position,  Pizarro  resolved  to  occupy  it  until  the 
violence  of  the  rainy  season  was  past,  when  the  arrival  of  the 
reinforcements  he  expected  would  put  him  in  better  condition 
for  marching  into  the  country  of  the  Inca. 

The  island,  which  lies  in  the  mouth  of  the  river  of  Guaya- 
quil, and  is  about  eight  leagues  in  length  by  four  in  breadth  at 
the  widest  part,  was  at  that  time  partially  covered  with  a noble 
growth  of  timber.  But  a large  portion  of  it  was  subjected  to 
cultivation,  and  bloomed  with  plantations  of  cacao,  of  the 

Peru  11  Yol.  1 


244 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


sweet  potato,  and  the  different  products  of  a tropical  clime, 
evincing  agricultural  knowledge  as  well  as  industry  in  the  pop- 
ulation. They  were  a warlike  race,  but  had  received  from  their 
Peruvian  foes  the  appellation  of  “perfidious.”  It  was  the 
brand  fastened  by  the  Roman  historians  on  their  Carthaginian 
enemies — with  perhaps  no  better  reason.  The  bold  and  inde- 
pendent islanders  opposed  a stubborn  resistance  to  the  arms  of 
the  Incas  ; and,  though  they  had  finally  yielded,  they  had  been 
ever  since  at  feud,  and  often  in  deadly  hostility,  with  their 
neighbors  of  Tumbez. 

The  latter  no  sooner  heard  of  Pizarro’s  arrival  on  the  island 
than,  trusting  probably  to  their  former  friendly  relations  with 
him,  they  came  over  in  some  number  to  the  Spanish  quarters. 
The  presence  of  their  detested  rivals  was  by  no  means  grateful 
to  the  jealous  inhabitants  of  Puna,  and  the  prolonged  residence 
of  the  white  men  on  their  island  could  not  be  otherwise  than 
burdensome.  In  their  outward  demeanor  they  still  maintained 
the  same  show  of  amity  ; but  Pizarro’s  interpreters  again  put 
him  on  his  guard  against  the  proverbial  perfidy  of  their  hosts. 
With  his  suspicions  thus  roused,  the  Spanish  commander  was 
informed  that  a number  of  the  chiefs  had  met  together  to  de- 
liberate on  a plan  of  insurrection.  Not  caring  to  wait  for  the 
springing  of  the  mine,  he  surrounded  the  place  of  meeting  with 
his  soldiers  and  made  prisoners  of  the  suspected  chieftains.  Ac- 
cording to  one  authority,  they  confessed  their  guilt.24  This  is 
by  no  means  certain.  Nor  is  it  certain  that  they  meditated  an 
insurrection.  Yet  the  fact  is  not  improbable  in  itself ; though 
it  derives  little  additional  probability  from  the  assertion  of  the 
hostile  interpreters.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  Pizarro  was 
satisfied  of  the  existence  of  a conspiracy  ; and,  without  further 
hesitation,  he  abandoned  his  wretched  prisoners,  ten  or  twelve 
in  number,  to  the  tender  mercies  of  their  rivals  of  Tumbez, 
who  instantly  massacred  them  before  his  eyes.25 

24Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  183. 

28  “ Y el  marques  don  Francisco  Piparro,  por  tenellos  por  amigos  y estuviesen  de  paz 
quando  alia  passasen,  les  dio  algunos  principales  los  quales  ellos  matavan  en  presencia  de 
los  espafioles,  cortandoles  las  cavezas  por  el  cogote.”  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq., 
MS. 


chap,  l]  BATTLES  IN  THE  ISLE  OF  PUNA. 


245 


Maddened  by  this  outrage,  the  people  of  Puna  sprang  to 
arms,  and  threw  themselves  at  once,  with  fearful  yells  and  the 
wildest  menaces  of  despair,  on  the  Spanish  camp.  The  odds 
of  numbers  were  greatly  in  their  favor,  for  they  mustered  sev- 
eral thousand  warriors.  But  the  more  decisive  odds  of  arms 
and  discipline  were  on  the  side  of  their  antagonists ; and,  as 
the  Indians  rushed  forward  in  a confused  mass  to  the  assault, 
the  Castilians  coolly  received  them  on  their  long  pikes  or 
swept  them  down  by  the  volleys  of  their  musketry.  Their  ill- 
protected  bodies  were  easily  cut  to  pieces  by  the  sharp  sword 
of  the  Spaniard  ; and  Hernando  Pizarro,  putting  himself  at  the 
head  of  the  cavalry,  charged  boldly  into  the  midst,  and 
scattered  them  far  and  wide  over  the  field,  until,  panic-struck 
by  the  terrible  array  of  steel-clad  horsemen  and  the  stunning 
reports  and  the  flash  of  fire-arms,  the  fugitives  sought  shelter  in 
the  depths  of  their  forests.  Yet  the  victory  was  owing,  in 
some  degree,  at  least — if  we  may  credit  the  Conquerors — to 
the  interposition  of  Heaven  ; for  St.  Michael  and  his  legions 
were  seen  high  in  the  air  above  the  combatants,  contending 
with  the  arch-enemy  of  man  and  cheering  on  the  Christians  by 
their  example ! 26 

Not  more  than  three  or  four  Spaniards  fell  in  the  fight ; but 
many  were  wounded,  and  among  them  Hernando  Pizarro,  who 
received  a severe  injury  in  the  leg  from  a javelin.  Nor  did 
the  war  end  here ; for  the  implacable  islanders,  taking  advan- 
tage of  the  cover  of  night,  or  of  any  remissness  on  the  part  of  the 
invaders,  were  ever  ready  to  steal  out  of  their  fastnesses  and 
spring  on  their  enemy’s  camp,  while,  by  cutting  off  his 
straggling  parties  and  destroying  his  provisions,  they  kept  him 
in  perpetual  alarm. 

In  this  uncomfortable  situation,  the  Spanish  commander  was 

38  The  city  of  San  Miguel  was  so  named  by  Pizarro  to  commemorate  the  event ; and  the 
existence  of  such  a city  may  be  considered  by  some  as  establishing  the  truth  of  the  miracle. 
— “ En  la  batalla  de  Pund  vieron  muchos,  y de  los  Indios,  ya  de  los  nuestros,  que  habia  en 
el  aire  otros  dos  campos,  uno  acaudillado  por  el  Arcangel  Sn  Miguel  con  espada  y rodela, 
y otro  por  Luzbel  y sus  secuaces  ; mas  apenas  cantaron  los  Castellanos  la  victoria  huyeron 
los  diablos,  y formando  un  gran  torvellino  de  viento  se  oyeron  en  el  aire  unas  terribles  voces 
que  decian,  Vencistenos  ! Miguel  vencistenos  ! De  aqui  tornd  D“  Francisco  Pizarro  tanta 
devocion  al  sto  Arcangel,  que  prometio  Uamar  la  primera  ciudad  que  fundase  de  su  nombre : 
cumpliolo  asi  como  veremos  adelante. ” Montesinos,  Annales,  MS.,  ano  1530. 


246 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU 


[book  iil 


gladdened  by  the  appearance  of  two  vessels  off  the  island. 
They  brought  a reinforcement  consisting  of  a hundred  volun- 
teers, besides  horses  for  the  cavalry.  It  was  commanded  by 
Hernando  de  Soto,  a captain  afterward  famous  as  the  discoverer 
of  the  Mississippi,  which  still  rolls  its  majestic  current  over  the 
place  of  his  burial — a fitting  monument  for  his  remains,  as  it  is 
of  his  renown.27 

This  reinforcement  was  most  welcome  to  Pizarro,  who  had 
been  long  discontented  with  his  position  on  an  island,  where 
he  found  nothing  to  compensate  the  life  of  unintermitting  hos- 
tility which  he  was  compelled  to  lead.  With  these  recruits  he 
felt  himself  in  sufficient  strength  to  cross  over  to  the  continent 
and  resume  military  operations  on  the  proper  theatre  for  dis- 
covery and  conquest.  From  the  Indians  of  Tumbez  he 
learned  that  the  country  had  been  for  some  time  distracted  by 
a civil  war  between  two  sons  of  the  late  monarch,  competitors 
for  the  throne.  This  intelligence  he  regarded  as  of  the  utmost 
importance,  for  he  remembered  the  use  which  Cortes  had 
made  of  similar  dissensions  among  the  tribes  of  Anahuac.  In- 
deed, Pizarro  seems  to  have  had  the  example  of  his  great  pre- 
decessor before  his  eyes  on  more  occasions  than  this.  But  he 
fell  far  short  of  his  model ; for,  notwithstanding  the  restraint 
he  sometimes  put  upon  himself,  his  coarser  nature  and  more 
ferocious  temper  often  betrayed  him  into  acts  most  repugnant 
to  sound  policy,  which  would  never  have  been  countenanced 
by  the  Conqueror  of  Mexico. 

27  The  transactions  in  Puna  are  given  at  more  or  less  length  by  Naharro,  Relacion  su- 
maria,  MS. — Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS. — Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Monte- 
sinos,  Annales,  MS.,  ubi  supra. — Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS.— Xerez,  Conq.  del 
Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  pp.  18a,  183. 


CHAP,  ii.]  PERU  AT  THE  TIME  OF  THE  CONQUEST . 247 


CHAPTER  II. 

Peru  at  the  Time  of  the  Conquest. — Reign  of  Huayna  Capac. — The  Inca 
Brothers. — Contest  for  the  Empire. — Triumph  and  Cruelties  of 
Atahuallpa. 

Before  accompanying  the  march  of  Pizarro  and  his  fol- 
lowers into  the  country  of  the  Incas,  it  is  necessary  to  make 
the  reader  acquainted  with  the  critical  situation  of  the  kingdom 
it  that  time.  For  the  Spaniards  arrived  just  at  the  consumma- 
tion of  an  important  revolution,  a crisis  most  favorable  to 
their  views  of  conquest,  and  one,  indeed,  but  for  which  the 
conquest,  with  such  a handful  of  soldiers,  could  never  have 
been  achieved. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  fifteenth  century  died  Tupac  Inca 
Yupanqui,  one  of  the  most  renowned  of  the  “ Children  of  the 
Sun,”  who,  carrying  the  Peruvian  arms  across  the  burning 
sands  of  Atacama,  penetrated  to  the  remote  borders  of  Chili, 
while  in  the  opposite  direction  he  enlarged  the  limits  of  the 
empire  by  the  acquisition  of  the  southern  provinces  of  Quito. 
The  war  in  this  quarter  was  conducted  by  his  son  Huayna 
Capac,  who  succeeded  his  father  on  the  throne,  and  fully 
equalled  him  in  military  daring  and  in  capacity  for  govern- 
ment. 

Under  this  prince,  the  whole  of  the  powerful  state  of  Quito, 
which  rivalled  that  of  Peru  itself  in  wealth  and  refinement, 
was  brought  under  the  sceptre  of  the  Incas ; whose  empire  re- 
ceived by  this  conquest  the  most  important  accession  yet  made 
to  it  since  the  foundation  of  the  dynasty  of  Manco  Capac. 
The  remaining  days  of  the  victorious  monarch  were  passed  in 
reducing  the  independent  tribes  on  the  remote  limits  of  his 
territory,  and,  still  more,  in  cementing  his  conquests  by  the 
introduction  of  the  Peruvian  polity.  He  was  actively  engaged 
in  completing  the  great  works  of  his  father,  especially  the  high 
roads  which  led  from  Quito  to  the  capital.  He  perfected  the 
establishment  of  posts,  took  great  pains  to  introduce  the 


248 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


Quichua  dialect  throughout  the  empire,  promoted  a better 
system  of  agriculture,  and,  in  fine,  encouraged  the  different 
branches  of  domestic  industry  and  the  various  enlightened 
plans  of  his  predecessors  for  the  improvement  of  his  people. 
Under  his  sway  the  Peruvian  monarchy  reached  its  most  palmy 
state ; and  under  both  him  and  his  illustrious  father  it  was  ad- 
vancing with  such  rapid  strides  in  the  march  of  civilization  as 
would  soon  have  carried  it  to  a level  with  the  more  refined 
despotisms  of  Asia,  furnishing  the  world,  perhaps,  with  higher 
evidence  of  the  capabilities  of  the  American  Indian  than  is 
elsewhere  to  be  found  on  the  great  Western  continent.  But 
other  and  gloomier  destinies  were  in  reserve  for  the  Indian 
races. 

The  first  arrival  of  the  white  men  on  the  South  American 
shores  of  the  Pacific  was  about  ten  years  before  the  death  of 
Huayna  Capac,  when  Balboa  crossed  the  Gulf  of  St.  Michael 
and  obtained  the  first  clear  report  of  the  empire  of  the  Incas. 
Whether  tidings  of  these  adventurers  reached  the  Indian  mon- 
arch’s ears  is  doubtful.  There  is  no  doubt,  however,  that  he 
obtained  the  news  of  the  first  expedition  under  Pizarro  and  Al- 
magro,  when  the  latter  commander  penetrated  as  far  as  the  Rio 
de  San  Juan,  about  the  fourth  degree  north.  The  accounts 
which  he  received  made  a strong  impression  on  the  mind  of 
Huayna  Capac.  He  discerned  in  the  formidable  prowess  and 
weapons  of  the  invaders  proofs  of  a civilization  far  superior  to 
that  of  his  own  people.  He  intimated  his  apprehension  that 
they  would  return,  and  that  at  some  day,  not  far  distant  per- 
haps, the  throne  of  the  Incas  might  be  shaken  by  these 
strangers  endowed  with  such  incomprehensible  powers.1  To 
the  vulgar  eye,  it  was  a little  speck  on  the  verge  of  the 
horizon ; but  that  of  the  sagacious  monarch  seemed  to  descry 
in  it  the  dark  thunder-cloud  that  was  to  spread  wider  and 
wider  till  it  burst  in  fury  on  his  nation. 

There  is  some  ground  for  believing  thus  much.  But  other 
accounts,  which  have  obtained  a popular  currency,  not  con- 

1 Sarmiento,  an  honest  authority,  tells  us  he  had  this  from  some  of  the  Inca  lords  who 
heard  it.  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  65. 


chap,  ii.]  REIGN  OF  HU  AYNA  CAP  AC.  249 

tent  with  this,  connect  the  first  tidings  of  the  white  men  with 
predictions  long  extant  in  the  country,  and  with  supernatural 
appearances  which  filled  the  hearts  of  the  whole  nation  with 
dismay.  Comets  were  seen  flaming  athwart  the  heavens. 
Earthquakes  shook  the  land ; the  moon  was  girdled  with  rings 
of  fire  of  many  colors ; a thunderbolt  fell  on  one  of  the  royal 
palaces  and  consumed  it  to  ashes ; and  an  eagle,  chased  by 
several  hawks,  was  seen,  screaming  in  the  air,  to  hover  about 
the  great  square  of  Cuzco,  when,  pierced  by  the  talons  of  his 
tormentors,  the  king  of  birds  fell  lifeless  in  the  presence  of 
many  of  the  Inca  nobles,  who  read  in  this  an  augury  of  their 
own  destruction.  Huayna  Capac  himself,  calling  his  great 
officers  around  him,  as  he  found  he  was  drawing  near  his  end, 
announced  the  subversion  of  his  empire  by  the  race  of  white 
and  bearded  strangers,  as  the  consummation  predicted  by  the 
oracles  after  the  reign  of  the  twelfth  Inca,  and  he  enjoined  it 
on  his  vassals  not  to  resist  the  decrees  of  Heaven,  but  to  yield 
obedience  to  its  messengers.2 

Such  is  the  report  of  the  impressions  made  by  the  appearance 
of  the  Spaniards  in  the  country,  reminding  one  of  the  similar 
feelings  of  superstitious  terror  occasioned  by  their  appearance 
in  Mexico.  But  the  traditions  of  the  latter  land  rest  on  much 
higher  authority  than  those  of  the  Peruvians,  which,  unsup- 
ported by  contemporary  testimony,  rest  almost  wholly  on  the 
naked  assertion  of  one  of  their  own  nation,  who  thought  to 
find,  doubtless,  in  the  inevitable  decrees  of  Heaven,  the  best 
apology  for  the  supineness  of  his  countrymen. 

It  is  not  improbable  that  rumors  of  the  advent  of  a strange 
and  mysterious  race  should  have  spread  gradually  among  the 
Indian  tribes  along  the  great  table-land  of  the  Cordilleras,  and 
should  have  shaken  the  hearts  of  the  stoutest  warriors  with  feel- 

8 A minute  relation  of  these  supernatural  occurrences  is  given  by  the  Inca  Garcilasso  de 
la  Vega  (Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  9,  cap.  14),  whose  situation  opened  to  him  the  very  best 
sources  of  information,  which  is  more  than  counterbalanced  by  the  defects  in  his  own  char- 
acter as  an  historian — his  childish  credulity,  and  his  desire  to  magnify  and  mystify  every- 
thing relating  to  his  own  order,  and,  indeed,  his  nation.  His  work  is  the  source  of  most  of 
the  facts — and  the  falsehoods — that  have  obtained  circulation  in  respect  to  the  ancient  Pe- 
ruvians. Unfortunately,  at  this  distance  of  time  it  is  not  always  easy  to  distinguish  the  one 
from  the  other. 


250 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  IIL 


ings  of  undefined  dread,  as  of  some  impending  calamity.  In 
this  state  of  mind,  it  was  natural  that  physical  convulsions,  to 
which  that  volcanic  country  is  peculiarly  subject,  should  have 
made  an  unwonted  impression  on  their  minds,  and  that  the 
phenomena  which  might  have  been  regarded  only  as  extraor- 
dinary, in  the  usual  seasons  of  political  security,  should  now  be 
interpreted  by  the  superstitious  soothsayer  as  the  handwriting 
on  the  heavens,  by  which  the  god  of  the  Incas  proclaimed  the 
approaching  downfall  of  their  empire. 

Huayna  Capac  had,  as  usual  with  the  Peruvian  princes,  a 
multitude  of  concubines,  by  whom  he  left  a numerous  poster- 
ity. The  heir  to  the  crown,  the  son  of  his  lawful  wife  and 
sister,  was  named  Huascar.3  At  the  period  of  the  history  at 
which  we  are  now  arrived,  he  was  about  thirty  years  of  age. 
Next  to  the  heir-apparent,  by  another  wife,  a cousin  of  the 
monarch’s,  came  Manco  Capac,  a young  prince  who  will  oc- 
cupy an  important  place  in  our  subsequent  story.  But  the  best- 
beloved  of  the  Inca’s  children  was  Atahuallpa.  His  mother 
was  the  daughter  of  the  last  Scyri  of  Quito,  who  had  died  of 
grief,  it  was  said,  not  long  after  the  subversion  of  his  kingdom 
by  Huayna  Capac.  The  princess  was  beautiful,  and  the  Inca, 
whether  to  gratify  his  passion,  or,  as  the  Peruvians  say,  willing 
to  make  amends  for  the  ruin  of  her  parents,  received  her 
among  his  concubines.  The  historians  of  Quito  assert  that  she 
was  his  lawful  wife ; but  this  dignity,  according  to  the  usages 
of  the  empire,  was  reserved  for  maidens  of  the  Inca  blood. 

The  latter  years  of  Huayna  Capac  were  passed  in  his  new 
kingdom  of  Quito.  Atahuallpa  was  accordingly  brought  up 
under  his  own  eye,  accompanied  him,  while  in  his  tender 
years,  in  his  campaigns,  slept  in  the  same  tent  with  his  royal 

8 Huascar , in  the  Quichua  dialect,  signifies  “ a cable.”  The  reason  of  its  being  given 
to  the  heir-apparent  is  remarkable.  Huayna  Capac  celebrated  the  birth  of  the  prince  by  a 
festival,  in  which  he  introduced  a massive  gold  chain  for  the  nobles  to  hold  in  their  hands 
as  they  performed  their  national  dances.  The  chain  was  seven  hundred  feet  in  length,  and 
the  links  nearly  as  big  round  as  a man’s  wrist ! (See  Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  lib.  i,  cap. 
14. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  9,  cap.  1.)  The  latter  writer  had  the  particu- 
lars, he  tells  us,  from  his  old  Inca  uncle — who  seems  to  have  dealt  largely  in  the  marvellous  ; 
not  too  largely  for  his  audience,  however,  as  the  story  has  been  circulated  without  scruple 
by  most  of  the  Castilian  writers  both  of  that  and  of  the  succeeding  age. 


CHAP.  II.] 


REIGN  OF  HU  AYNA  CAP  AC. 


251 


father,  and  ate  from  the  same  plate.4  The  vivacity  of  the 
boy,  his  courage  and  generous  nature,  won  the  affections  of  the 
old  monarch  to  such  a degree  that  he  resolved  to  depart  from 
the  established  usages  of  the  realm  and  divide  his  empire  be- 
tween him  and  his  elder  brother  Huascar.  On  his  death-bed 
he  called  the  great  officers  of  the  crown  around  him,  and  de- 
clared it  to  be  his  will  that  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Quito  should 
pass  to  Atahuallpa,  who  might  be  considered  as  having  a nat- 
ural claim  on  it,  as  the  dominion  of  his  ancestors.  The  rest  of 
the  empire  he  settled  on  Huascar  ; and  he  enjoined  it  on  the 
two  brothers  to  acquiesce  in  this  arrangement  and  to  live  in 
amity  with  each  other.  This  was  the  last  act  of  the  heroic 
monarch ; doubtless  the  most  impolitic  of  his  whole  life.  With 
his  dying  breath  he  subverted  the  fundamental  laws  of  the 
empire ; and,  while  he  recommended  harmony  between  the 
successors  to  his  authority,  he  left  in  this  very  division  of  it 
the  seeds  of  inevitable  discord.5 

His  death  took  place,  as  seems  probable,  at  the  close  of 
1525,  not  quite  seven  years  before  Pizarro’s  arrival  at  Puna.6 
The  tidings  of  his  decease  spread  sorrow  and  consternation 
throughout  the  land ; for,  though  stern  and  even  inexorable  to 
the  rebel  and  the  long-resisting  foe,  he  was  a brave  and  mag- 
nanimous monarch,  and  legislated  with  the  enlarged  views  of 
a prince  who  regarded  every  part  of  his  dominions  as  equally 
his  concern.  The  people  of  Quito,  flattered  by  the  proofs  which 
he  had  given  of  preference  for  them  by  his  permanent  residence 

4 “Atabalipa  era  bien  quisto  de  los  Capitanes  viejos  de  su  Padre  y de  los  Soldados, 
porque  andubo  en  la  guerra  en  su  ninez  y porque  el  en  vida  le  mostro  tanto  amor  que  no  le 
dejaba  comer  otra  cosa  que  lo  que  el  le  daba  de  su  plato.” — Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS., 
cap.  66. 

5 Oviedo,  Hist  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  1,  lib.  8,  cap.  9. — Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  lib. 
1,  cap.  12. — Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  65. — Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom. 
iii. , p.  201. 

6 The  precise  date  of  this  event,  though  so  near  the  time  of  the  Conquest,  is  matter  of 
doubt.  Balboa,  a contemporary  with  the  Conquerors,  and  who  wrote  at  Quito,  where  the 
Inca  died,  fixes  it  at  1525.  (Hist,  du  Perou,  chap.  14.)  Velasco,  another  inhabitant  of 
the  same  place,  after  an  investigation  of  the  different  accounts,  comes  to  the  like  conclu- 
sion. (Hist,  de  Quito,  tom.  i.,  p.  232.)  Dr.  Robertson,  after  telling  us  that  Huayna  Ca- 
pac  died  in  1529,  speaks  again  of  this  event  as  haring  happened  in  1527.  (Conf.  America, 
vol.  iii.,  pp.  25,  381.)  Anyone  who  has  been  bewildered  by  the  chronological  snarl  of  the 
ancient  chronicles  will  not  be  surprised  at  meeting  occasionally  with  such  inconsistencies  In 
a writer  who  is  obliged  to  take  them  as  his  guides. 


252 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


in  that  country  and  his  embellishment  of  their  capital,  mani- 
fested unfeigned  sorrow  at  his  loss ; and  his  subjects  at  Cuz- 
co, proud  of  the  glory  which  his  arms  and  his  abilities  had 
secured  for  his  native  land,  held  him  in  no  less  admiration  ;7 
while  the  more  thoughtful  and  the  more  timid,  in  both  coun- 
tries, looked  with  apprehension  to  the  future,  when  the  sceptre  of 
the  vast  empire,  instead  of  being  swayed  by  an  old  and  experi- 
enced hand,  was  to  be  consigned  to  rival  princes,  naturally  jeal- 
ous of  one  another,  and,  from  their  age,  necessarily  exposed  to 
the  unwholesome  influence  of  crafty  and  ambitious  counsellors. 
The  people  testified  their  regret  by  the  unwonted  honors  paid 
to  the  memory  of  the  deceased  Inca.  His  heart  was  retained 
in  Quito,  and  his  body,  embalmed  after  the  fashion  of  the 
country,  was  transported  to  Cuzco,  to  take  its  place  in  the 
great  temple  of  the  Sun,  by  the  side  of  the  remains  of  his 
royal  ancestors.  His  obsequies  were  celebrated  with  sanguinary 
splendor  in  both  the  capitals  of  his  far-extended  empire  ; and 
several  thousands  of  the  imperial  concubines,  with  numerous 
pages  and  officers  of  the  palace,  are  said  to  have  proved  their 
sorrow,  or  their  superstition,  by  offering  up  their  own  lives, 
that  they  might  accompany  their  departed  lord  to  the  bright 
mansions  of  the  Sun.8 

For  nearly  five  years  after  the  death  of  Huayna  Capac,  the 
royal  brothers  reigned,  each  over  his  allotted  portion  of  the 
empire,  without  distrust  of  one  another,  or,  at  least,  without 
collision.  It  seemed  as  if  the  wish  of  their  father  was  to  be  com- 
pletely realized,  and  that  the  two  states  were  to  maintain  their 
respective  integrity  and  independence  as  much  as  if  they  had 
never  been  united  into  one.  But,  with  the  manifold  causes  for 
jealousy  and  discontent,  and  the  swarms  of  courtly  sycophants 
who  would  find  their  account  in  fomenting  these  feelings,  it  was 
easy  to  see  that  this  tranquil  state  of  things  could  not  long 
endure.  Nor  would  it  have  endured  so  long,  but  for  the  more 

7 One  cannot  doubt  this  monarch’s  popularity  with  the  female  part  of  his  subjects,  at 
least,  if,  as  the  historian  of  the  Incas  tells  us,  “ he  was  never  known  to  refuse  a woman,  of 
whatever  age  or  degree  she  might  be,  any  favor  that  she  asked  of  him  ! ” — Com.  Real., 
Parte  i,  lib.  8,  cap.  7. 

8Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  65. — Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  5,  lib.  3,  cap.  17. 


CHAP.  II.] 


THE  INCA  BROTHERS. 


253 


gentle  temper  of  Huascar,  the  only  party  who  had  ground  for 
complaint.  He  was  four  or  five  years  older  than  his  brother, 
and  was  possessed  of  courage  not  to  be  doubted ; but  he  was  a 
prince  of  a generous  and  easy  nature,  and  perhaps,  if  left  to 
himself,  might  have  acquiesced  in  an  arrangement  which, 
however  unpalatable,  was  the  will  of  his  deified  father.  But 
Atahuallpa  was  of  a different  temper.  Warlike,  ambitious,  and 
daring,  he  was  constantly  engaged  in  enterprises  for  the  en- 
largement of  his  own  territory ; though  his  crafty  policy  was 
scrupulous  not  to  aim  at  extending  his  acquisitions  in  the 
direction  of  his  royal  brother.  His  restless  spirit,  however, 
excited  some  alarm  at  the  court  of  Cuzco,  and  Huascar  at  length 
sent  an  envoy  to  Atahuallpa,  to  remonstrate  with  him  on  his 
ambitious  enterprises,  and  to  require  him  to  render  him  hom- 
age for  his  kingdom  of  Quito. 

This  is  one  statement.  Other  accounts  pretend  that  the 
immediate  cause  of  rupture  was  a claim  instituted  by  Huascar 
for  the  territory  of  Tumebamba,  held  by  his  brother  as  part  of 
his  patrimonial  inheritance.  It  matters  little  what  was  the  os- 
tensible ground  of  collision  between  persons  placed  by  circum- 
stances in  so  false  a position  in  regard  to  one  another  that  col- 
lision must,  at  some  time  or  other,  inevitably  occur. 

The  commencement,  and,  indeed,  the  whole  course,  of  hos- 
tilities which  soon  broke  out  between  the  rival  brothers  are 
stated  with  irreconcilable  and,  considering  the  period  was  so 
near  to  that  of  the  Spanish  invasion,  with  unaccountable, 
discrepancy.  By  some  it  is  said  that  in  Atahuallpa’ s first  en- 
counter with  the  troops  of  Cuzco  he  was  defeated  and  made 
prisoner  near  Tumebamba,  a favorite  residence  of  his  father, 
in  the  ancient  territory  of  Quito  and  in  the  district  of  Canaris. 
From  this  disaster  he  recovered  by  a fortunate  escape  from  con- 
finement, when,  regaining  his  capital,  he  soon  found  himself 
at  the  head  of  a numerous  army,  led  by  the  most  able  and 
experienced  captains  in  the  empire.  The  liberal  manners  of 
the  young  Atahuallpa  had  endeared  him  to  the  soldiers,  with 
whom,  as  we  have  seen,  he  served  more  than  one  campaign  in 
his  father’s  lifetime.  These  troops  were  the  flower  of  the 


254 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


great  army  of  the  Inca,  and  some  of  them  had  grown  gray  in 
his  long  military  career,  which  had  left  them  at  the  north, 
where  they  readily  transferred  their  allegiance  to  the  young 
sovereign  of  Quito.  They  were  commanded  by  two  officers 
of  great  consideration,  both  possessed  of  large  experience  in 
military  affairs  and  high  in  the  confidence  of  the  late  Inca. 
One  of  them  was  named  Quizquiz ; the  other,  who  was  the 
maternal  uncle  of  Atahuallpa,  was  called  Challcuchima. 

With  these  practised  warriors  to  guide  him,  the  young  mon- 
arch put  himself  at  the  head  of  this  martial  array  and  directed 
his  march  toward  the  south.  He  had  not  advanced  farther 
than  Ambato,  about  sixty  miles  distant  from  his  capital,  when 
he  fell  in  with  a numerous  host  which  had  been  sent  against 
him  by  his  brother,  under  the  command  of  a distinguished  chief- 
tain, of  the  Inca  family.  A bloody  battle  followed,  which 
lasted  the  greater  part  of  the  day ; and  the  theatre  of  combat 
was  the  skirts  of  the  mighty  Chimborazo.9 

The  battle  ended  favorably  for  Atahuallpa,  and  the  Peru- 
vians were  routed  with  great  slaughter  and  the  loss  of  their 
commander.  The  prince  of  Quito  availed  himself  of  his  ad- 
vantage to  push  forward  his  march  until  he  arrived  before  the 
gates  of  Tumebamba,  which  city,  as  well  as  the  whole  district 
of  Canaris,  though  an  ancient  dependency  of  Quito,  had  sided 
with  his  rival  in  the  contest.  Entering  the  captive  city  like  a 
conqueror,  he  put  the  inhabitants  to  the  sword,  and  razed  it 
with  all  its  stately  edifices,  some  of  which  had  been  reared  by 
his  own  father,  to  the  ground.  He  carried  on  the  same  war 
of  extermination  as  he  marched  through  the  offending  district 
of  Canaris.  In  some  places,  it  is  said,  bands  of  children,  as 
well  as  of  older  persons,  were  sent  out,  in  melancholy  proces- 
sion, with  green  branches  in  their  hands,  to  deprecate  his 
wrath  ; but  the  vindictive  conqueror,  deaf  to  their  entreaties, 

9 Garcilasso  denies  that  anything  but  insignificant  skirmishes  took  place  before  the  de- 
cisive action  fought  on  the  plains  of  Cuzco.  But  Sarmiento,  who  gathered  his  accounts  of 
these  events,  as  he  tells  us,  from  the  actors  in  them,  walked  over  the  field  of  battle  at  Am- 
bato, when  the  ground  was  still  covered  with  the  bones  of  the  slain  : “Yo  he  pasado 
por  este  Pueblo  y he  visto  el  Lugar  donde  dicen  que  esta  Batalla  se  did,  y cierto  segun 
hay  la  osamenta  devieron  aun  de  morir  mas  gente  de  la  que  cuentan.” — Relacion,  MS., 
cap.  69. 


chap,  ii.]  CONTEST  FOR  THE  EMPIRE.  255 

laid  the  country  waste  with  fire  and  sword,  sparing  no  man 
capable  of  bearing  arms  who  fell  into  his  hands.10 

The  fate  of  Canaris  struck  terror  into  the  hearts  of  his  ene- 
mies, and  one  place  after  another  opened  its  gates  to  the  victor, 
who  held  on  his  triumphant  march  toward  the  Peruvian  cap- 
ital. His  arms  experienced  a temporary  check  before  the  isl- 
and of  Puna,  whose  bold  warriors  maintained  the  cause  of  his 
brother.  After  some  days  lost  before  this  place,  Atahuallpa 
left  the  contest  to  their  old  enemies,  the  people  of  Tumbez, 
who  had  early  given  in  their  adhesion  to  him,  while  he  resumed 
his  march  and  advanced  as  far  as  Caxamalca,  about  seven  de- 
grees south.  Here  he  halted  with  a detachment  of  the  army, 
sending  forward  the  main  body  under  the  command  of  his  two 
generals,  with  orders  to  move  straight  upon  Cuzco.  He  pre- 
ferred not  to  trust  himself  farther  in  the  enemy’s  country, 
where  a defeat  might  be  fatal.  By  establishing  his  quarters  at 
Caxamalca,  he  would  be  able  to  support  his  generals  in  case  of 
a reverse,  or,  at  worst , to  secure  his  retreat  on  Quito  until  he 
was  again  in  condition  to  renew  hostilities. 

The  two  commanders,  advancing  by  rapid  marches,  at 
length  crossed  the  Apurimac  River,  and  arrived  within  a short 
distance  of  the  Peruvian  capital.  Meanwhile,  Huascar  had  not 
been  idle.  On  receiving  tidings  of  the  discomfiture  of  his 
army  at  Ambato,  he  made  every  exertion  to  raise  levies 
throughout  the  country.  By  the  advice,  it  is  said,  of  his 
priests — the  most  incompetent  advisers  in  times  of  danger — 
he  chose  to  await  the  approach  of  the  enemy  in  his  own  cap- 
ital ; and  it  was  not  till  the  latter  had  arrived  within  a few 
leagues  of  Cuzco  that  the  Inca,  taking  counsel  of  the  same 
ghostly  monitors,  sallied  forth  to  give  him  battle. 

10  “Cuentan  muchos  Indios  a quien  yo  lo  oi,  que  por  amansar  su  ira,  mandaron  4 un 
escuadron  grande  de  ninos  y 4 otro  de  hombres  de  toda  edad,  que  saliesen  hasta  las  rlcas 
andas  donde  venia  con  gran  pompa,  llevando  en  las  manos  ramos  verdes  y ojas  de  palma, 
y que  le  pidiesen  la  gracia  y amistad  suya  para  el  pueblo,  sin  mirar  la  injuria  pasada,  y 
que  en  tantos  clamores  se  lo  suplicaron,  y con  tanta  humildad,  que  bastara  quebrantar  co- 
razones  de  piedra  : mas  poca  impresion  hicieron  en  el  cruel  de  Atabalipa,  porque  dicen  que 
mand6  a sus  capitanes  ygentes  que  matasen  4 todos  aquellos  que  habian  venido,  lo  cual 
fog  hecho,  no  perdonando  sino  4 algunos  ninos  y a las  mugeres  sagradas  del  Templo.M 
Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  70, 


256 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


The  two  armies  met  on  the  plains  of  Quipaypan,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Indian  metropolis.  Their  numbers  are 
stated  with  the  usual  discrepancy ; but  Atahuallpa’ s troops  had 
considerably  the  advantage  in  discipline  and  experience,  for 
many  of  Huascar’s  levies  had  been  drawn  hastily  together  from 
the  surrounding  country.  Both  fought,  however,  with  the 
desperation  of  men  who  felt  that  everything  was  at  stake.  It 
was  no  longer  a contest  for  a province,  but  for  the  possession 
of  an  empire.  Atahuallpa’s  troops,  flushed  with  recent  success, 
fought  with  the  confidence  of  those  who  relied  on  their  superior 
prowess ; while  the  loyal  vassals  of  the  Inca  displayed  all  the 
self-devotion  of  men  who  held  their  own  lives  cheap  in  the 
service  of  their  master. 

The  fight  raged  with  the  greatest  obstinacy  from  sunrise  to 
sunset ; and  the  ground  was  covered  with  heaps  of  the  dying 
and  the  dead,  whose  bones  lay  bleaching  on  the  battle-field 
long  after  the  conquest  by  the  Spaniards.  At  length,  fortune 
declared  in  favor  of  Atahuallpa,  or,  rather,  the  usual  result  of 
superior  discipline  and  military  practice  followed.  The  ranks 
of  the  Inca  were  thrown  into  irretrievable  disorder,  and  gave 
way  in  all  directions.  The  conquerors  followed  close  on  the  heels 
of  the  flying.  Huascar  himself,  among  the  latter,  endeavored 
to  make  his  escape  with  about  a thousand  men  who  remained 
round  his  person.  But  the  royal  fugitive  was  discovered  be- 
fore he  had  left  the  field  ; his  little  party  was  enveloped  by 
clouds  of  the  enemy,  and  nearly  everyone  of  the  devoted  band 
perished  in  defence  of  their  Inca.  Huascar  was  made  prisoner, 
and  the  victorious  chiefs  marched  at  once  on  his  capital,  which 
they  occupied  in  the  name  of  their  sovereign.11 

These  events  occurred  in  the  spring  of  1532,  a few  months 
before  the  landing  of  the  Spaniards.  The  tidings  of  the  suc- 
cess of  his  arms  and  the  capture  of  his  unfortunate  brother 
reached  Atahuallpa  at  Caxamalca.  He  instantly  gave  orders 
that  Huascar  should  be  treated  with  the  respect  due  to  his  rank, 

11  Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap.  77. — Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8, 
cap.  9. — Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  202. — Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  lib. 
s,  cap.  12. — Sarmiento,  Relacion,  MS.,  cap.  70. — Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 


chap,  ii.]  CONTEST  FOR  THE  EMPIRE.  257 

but  that  he  should  be  removed  to  the  strong  fortress  of  Xauxa 
and  held  there  in  strict  confinement.  His  orders  did  not  stop 
here — if  we  are  to  receive  the  accounts  of  Garcilasso  de  la 
Vega,  himself  of  the  Inca  race,  and  by  his  mother’s  side 
nephew  of  the  great  Huayna  Capac. 

According  to  this  authority,  Atahuallpa  invited  the  Inca 
nobles  throughout  the  country  to  assemble  at  Cuzco,  in  order 
to  deliberate  on  the  best  means  of  partitioning  the  empire  be- 
tween him  and  his  brother.  When  they  had  met  in  the  capi- 
tal, they  were  surrounded  by  the  soldiery  of  Quito  and  butch- 
ered without  mercy.  The  motive  for  this  perfidious  act  was 
to  exterminate  the  whole  of  the  royal  family,  who  might  each 
one  of  them  show  a better  title  to  the  crown  than  the  illegiti- 
mate Atahuallpa.  But  the  massacre  did  not  end  here.  The 
illegitimate  offspring,  like  himself,  half-brothers  of  the  monster, 
all,  in  short,  who  had  any  of  the  Inca  blood  in  their  veins,  were 
involved  in  it ; and,  with  an  appetite  for  carnage  unparalleled 
in  the  annals  of  the  Roman  Empire  or  of  the  French  Republic, 
Atahuallpa  ordered  all  the  females  of  the  blood  royal,  his 
aunts,  nieces,  and  cousins,  to  be  put  to  death,  and  that,  too, 
with  the  most  refined  and  lingering  tortures.  To  give  greater 
zest  to  his  revenge,  many  of  the  executions  took  place  in  the 
presence  of  Huascar  himself,  who  was  thus  compelled  to  wit- 
ness the  butchery  of  his  own  wives  and  sisters,  while,  in  the 
extremity  of  anguish,  they  in  vain  called  on  him  to  protect 
them  ! lZ 

Such  is  the  tale  told  by  the  historian  of  the  Incas,  and  re- 
ceived by  him,  as  he  assures  us,  from  his  mother  and  uncle, 
who,  being  children  at  the  time,  were  so  fortunate  as  to  be 
among  the  few  that  escaped  the  massacre  of  their  house.13 

ia  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  9,  cap.  35-39. — “ A las  Mugeres,  Hermanas,  Tias, 
Sobrinas,  Primas  Hermanas,  y Madrastras  de  Atahuallpa,  colgavan  de  los  Arboles,  y de 
muchas  Horcas  mui  altas  que  hicieron  : a unas  colgaron  de  los  cabellos,  a otras  por  debajo 
de  los  bra?os,  y a otras  de  otras  maneras  feas,  que  por  la  honestidad  se  callan  : davanles 
sus  hijuelos,  que  los  tuviesen  en  bragos,  tenianlos  hasta  que  se  las  calan,  y se  aporreavan.” 
(Ibid.,  cap.  37.)  The  variety  of  torture  shows  some  invention  in  the  writer,  or,  more  proba- 
bly, in  the  writer’s  uncle,  the  ancient  Inca,  the  raconteur  of  these  Bluebeard  butcheries. 

13  “ Las  crueldades,  que  Atahuallpa  en  los  de  la  Sangre  Real  hi?o,  dire  de  Relacion  de 
mi  Madre,  y de  un  Hermano  suio,  que  se  llamo  Don  Fernando  Huallpa  Tupac  Incai  Yu- 


258 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


And  such  is  the  account  repeated  by  many  a Castilian  writer 
since,  without  any  symptom  of  distrust.  But  a tissue  of  un- 
provoked atrocities  like  these  is  too  repugnant  to  the  princi- 
ples of  human  nature — and,  indeed,  to  common  sense — to  war- 
rant our  belief  in  them  on  ordinary  testimony. 

The  annals  of  semi-civilized  nations  unhappily  show  that 
there  have  been  instances  of  similar  attempts  to  extinguish  the 
whole  of  a noxious  race  which  had  become  the  object  of  a 
tyrant’s  jealousy ; though  such  an  attempt  is  about  as  chimer- 
ical as  it  would  be  to  extirpate  any  particular  species  of  plant 
the  seeds  of  which  had  been  borne  on  every  wind  over  the 
country.  But,  if  the  attempt  to  exterminate  the  Inca  race  was 
actually  made  by  Atahuallpa,  how  comes  it  that  so  many  of 
the  pure  descendants  of  the  blood  royal — nearly  six  hundred 
in  number — are  admitted  by  the  historian  to  have  been  in  ex- 
istence seventy  years  after  the  imputed  massacre  ? 14  Why  was 
the  massacre,  instead  of  being  limited  to  the  legitimate  mem- 
bers of  the  royal  stock,  who  could  show  a better  title  to  the 
crown  than  the  usurper,  extended  to  all,  however  remotely  or 
in  whatever  way,  connected  with  the  race  ? Why  were  aged 
women  and  young  maidens  involved  in  the  proscription,  and 
why  were  they  subjected  to  such  refined  and  superfluous  tort- 
ures, when  it  is  obvious  that  beings  so  impotent  could  have 
done  nothing  to  provoke  the  jealousy  of  the  tyrant  ? Why, 
when  so  many  were  sacrificed  from  some  vague  apprehension  of 
distant  danger,  was  his  rival  Huascar,  together  with  his  younger 
brother  Manco  Capac,  the  two  men  from  whom  the  conqueror 
had  most  to  fear,  suffered  to  live  ? Why,  in  short,  is  the  won- 
derful tale  not  recorded  by  others  before  the  time  of  Garcilasso, 
and  nearer  by  half  a century  to  the  events  themselves  ? 15 

panqui,  que  entonces  eran  Ninos  de  menos  de  diez  Anos.”  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte 
i,  lib.  9,  cap.  14. 

14  This  appears  from  a petition  for  certain  immunities,  forwarded  to  Spain  in  1603,  and 
signed  by  five  hundred  and  sixty-seven  Indians  of  the  royal  Inca  race.  (Ibid.,  Parte  3,  lib. 
9,  cap.  40.)  Oviedo  says  that  Huayna  Capac  left  a hundred  sons  and  daughters,  and  that 
most  of  them  were  alive  at  the  time  of  his  writing : “Tubo  cien  hijos  y hijas,  y la 
mayor  parte  de  elios  son  vivos.”  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  9. 

1 6 I have  looked  in  vain  for  some  confirmation  of  this  story  in  Oviedo,  Sarmiento,  Xeres, 
Cieza  de  Leon,  Zarate,  Pedro  Pizarro,  Gomara — all  living  at  the  time,  and,  having  access 


CHAP.  II.] 


TRIUMPH  OF  ATAHUALLPA . 


259 


That  Atahuallpa  may  have  been  guilty  of  excesses,  and 
abused  the  rights  of  conquest  by  some  gratuitous  acts  of  cru- 
elty, may  be  readily  believed ; for  no  one  who  calls  to  mind 
his  treatment  of  the  Canaris — which  his  own  apologists  do  not 
affect  to  deny 16 — will  doubt  that  he  had  a full  measure  of  the 
vindictive  temper  which  belongs  to 

“ Those  souls  of  fire,  and  Children  of  the  Sun, 

With  whom  revenge  was  virtue.  ” 

But  there  is  a wide  difference  between  this  and  the  monstrous 
and  most  unprovoked  atrocities  imputed  to  him,  implying  a 
diabolical  nature  not  to  be  admitted  on  the  evidence  of  an 
Indian  partisan,  the  sworn  foe  of  his  house,  and  repeated  by 
Castilian  chroniclers,  who  may  naturally  seek,  by  blazoning 
the  enormities  of  Atahuallpa,  to  find  some  apology  for  the 
cruelty  of  their  countrymen  toward  him. 

The  news  of  the  great  victory  was  borne  on  the  wings  of  the 
wind  to  Caxamalca ; and  loud  and  long  was  the  rejoicing, 
not  only  in  the  camp  of  Atahuallpa,  but  in  the  town  and  sur- 
rounding country  ; for  all  now  came  in,  eager  to  offer  their 
congratulations  to  the  victor  and  do  him  homage.  The  Prince 
of  Quito  no  longer  hesitated  to  assume  the  scarlet  borla , the 
diadem  of  the  Incas.  His  triumph  was  complete.  He  had 
beaten  his  enemies  on  their  own  ground,  had  taken  their  capi- 
tal, had  set  his  foot  on  the  neck  of  his  rival,  and  won  for  him- 
self the  ancient  sceptre  of  the  Children  of  the  Sun.  But  the 
hour  of  triumph  was  destined  to  be  that  of  his  deepest  humili- 
ation. Atahuallpa  was  not  one  of  those  to  whom,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Grecian  bard,  “ the  gods  are  willing  to  reveal 
themselves.  ’ ’ 17  He  had  not  read  the  handwriting  on  the  heav- 


to  the  best  sources  of  information,  and  all,  it  may  be  added,  disposed  to  do  stern  justice  to 
the  evil  qualities  of  the  Indian  monarch. 

16  No  one  of  the  apologists  of  Atahuallpa  goes  quite  so  far  as  Father  Velasco,  who,  in  the 
overflowings  of  his  loyalty  for  a Quito  monarch,  regards  his  massacre  of  the  Canaris  as  a 
very  fair  retribution  for  their  offences  : “ Si  les  auteurs  dont  je  viens  de  parler  s’etaient 
trouves  dans  les  memes  circonstances  qu’ Atahuallpa  et  avaient  eprouve  autant  d’ offenses 
graves  et  le  trahisons,  je  ne  croirai  jamais  qu’ils  eussent  agi  autrement.”  Hist,  de  Quito, 
tom.  i.,  p.  253.  17  “ Ov  yap  itw  navretrcri  0e oi  fyaivovrai  ivapyeis.”  OAY2.,  n,  v.  161. 


z6o 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


ens.  The  small  speck  which  the  clear-sighted  eye  of  his  father 
had  discerned  on  the  distant  verge  of  the  horizon,  though  little 
noticed  by  Atahuallpa,  intent  on  the  deadly  strife  with  his 
brother,  had  now  risen  high  toward  the  zenith,  spreading  wider 
and  wider,  till  it  wrapped  the  skies  in  darkness  and  was  ready 
to  burst  in  thunders  on  the  devoted  nation. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  Spaniards  Land  at  Tumbez. — Pizarro  Reconnoitres  the  Country.— 
Foundation  of  San  Miguel. — March  into  the  Interior. — Embassy 
from  the  Inca. — Adventures  on  the  March. — Arrival  at  the  Foot  of 
the  Andes. 

I532* 

We  left  the  Spaniards  at  the  island  of  Puna,  preparing  to 
make  their  descent  on  the  neighboring  continent  at  Tumbez. 
This  port  was  but  a few  leagues  distant,  and  Pizarro,  with  the 
greater  part  of  his  followers,  passed  over  in  the  ships,  while  a 
few  others  were  to  transport  the  commander’s  baggage  and  the 
military  stores  on  some  of  the  Indian  balsas.  One  of  the  lat- 
ter vessels  which  first  touched  the  shore  was  surrounded,  and 
three  persons  who  were  on  the  raft  were  carried  off  by  the  na- 
tives to  the  adjacent  woods  and  there  massacred.  The  Indians 
then  got  possession  of  another  of  the  balsas,  containing  Pizar- 
ro’s  wardrobe ; but,  as  the  men  who  defended  it  raised  loud 
cries  for  help,  they  reached  the  ears  of  Hernando  Pizarro,  who, 
with  a small  body  of  horse,  had  effected  a landing  some  way 
farther  down  the  shore.  A broad  tract  of  miry  ground,  over- 
flowed at  high  water,  lay  between  him  and  the  party  thus 
rudely  assailed  by  the  natives.  The  tide  was  out,  and  the 
bottom  was  soft  and  dangerous.  With  little  regard  to  the 
danger,  however,  the  bold  cavalier  spurred  his  horse  into  the 
slimy  depths,  and,  followed  by  his  men,  with  the  mud  up 
to  their  saddle-girths,  plunged  forward  into  the  midst  of  the 
marauders,  who,  terrified  by  the  strange  apparition  of  the 


chap,  hi.]  THE  SPANIARDS  AT  TUMBEZ.  26 1 

horsemen,  fled  precipitately,  without  show  of  fight,  to  the 
neighboring  forests. 

This  conduct  of  the  natives  of  Tumbez  is  not  easy  to  be  ex- 
plained, considering  the  friendly  relations  maintained  with  the 
Spaniards  on  their  preceding  visit,  and  lately  renewed  in  the 
island  of  Puna.  But  Pizarro  was  still  more  astonished,  on 
entering  their  town,  to  find  it  not  only  deserted,  but,  with  the 
exception  of  a few  buildings,  entirely  demolished.  Four  or 
five  of  the  most  substantial  private  dwellings,  the  great  temple, 
and  the  fortress — and  these  greatly  damaged,  and  wholly  de- 
spoiled of  their  interior  decorations — alone  survived  to  mark 
the  site  of  the  city  and  attest  its  former  splendor.1  The  scene 
of  desolation  filled  the  conquerors  with  dismay ; for  even  the 
raw  recruits,  who  had  never  visited  the  coast  before,  had  heard 
the  marvellous  stories  of  the  golden  treasures  of  Tumbez,  and 
they  had  confidently  looked  forward  to  them  as  an  easy  spoil 
after  all  their  fatigues.  But  the  gold  of  Peru  seemed  only  like  a 
deceitful  phantom,  which,  after  beckoning  them  on  through  toil 
and  danger,  vanished  the  moment  they  attempted  to  grasp  it. 

Pizarro  despatched  a small  body  of  troops  in  pursuit  of  the 
fugitives  ; and,  after  some  slight  skirmishing,  they  got  posses- 
sion of  several  of  the  natives,  and  among  them,  as  it  chanced, 
the  curaca  of  the  place.  When  brought  before  the  Spanish 
commander,  he  exonerated  himself  from  any  share  in  the 
violence  offered  to  the  white  men,  saying  that  it  was  done  by 
a lawless  party  of  his  people,  without  his  knowledge  at  the 
time  ; and  he  expressed  his  willingness  to  deliver  them  up  to 
punishment,  if  they  could  be  detected.  He  explained  the  di- 
lapidated condition  of  the  town  by  the  long  wars  carried  on 
with  the  fierce  tribes  of  Puna,  who  had  at  length  succeeded  in 
getting  possession  of  the  place  and  driving  the  inhabitants  into 
the  neighboring  woods  and  mountains.  The  Inca,  to  whose 
cause  they  were  attached,  was  too  much  occupied  with  his  own 
feuds  to  protect  them  against  their  enemies. 

1 Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  185. — “ Aunque  lo  del  templo  del  Sol  en 
quien  ellos  adoran  era  cosa  de  ver,  porque  tenian  grandes  edificios,  y todo  el  por  de  dentro 
y de  fuera  pintado  de  grandes  pinturas  y ricos  matizes  de  colores,  porque  los  hay  en  aquella 
tierra."’ — Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. 


262 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


|BOOK  III. 


Whether  Pizarro  gave  any  credit  to  the  cacique’s  exculpa- 
tion of  himself  may  be  doubted.  He  dissembled  his  suspicions, 
however,  and,  as  the  Indian  lord  promised  obedience  in  his 
own  name  and  that  of  his  vassals,  the  Spanish  general  consented 
to  take  no  further  notice  of  the  affair.  He  seems  now  to  have 
felt  for  the  first  time,  in  its  full  force,  that  it  was  his  policy  to 
gain  the  good  will  of  the  people  among  whom  he  had  thrown 
himself  in  the  face  of  such  tremendous  odds.  It  was,  perhaps,  the 
excesses  of  which  his  men  had  been  guilty  in  the  earlier  stages 
of  the  expedition  that  had  shaken  the  confidence  of  the  people 
of  Tumbez  and  incited  them  to  this  treacherous  retaliation. 

Pizarro  inquired  of  the  natives  who  now,  under  promise  of 
impunity,  came  into  the  camp,  what  had  become  of  his  two 
followers  that  remained  with  them  in  the  former  expedition. 
The  answers  they  gave  were  obscure  and  contradictory.  Some 
said  they  had  died  of  an  epidemic  ; others,  that  they  had  per- 
ished in  the  war  with  Puna ; and  others  intimated  that  they  had 
lost  their  lives  in  consequence  of  some  outrage  attempted  on 
the  Indian  women.  It  was  impossible  to  arrive  at  the  truth. 
The  last  account  was  not  the  least  probable.  But,  whatever 
might  be  the  cause,  there  was  no  doubt  they  had  both  perished. 

This  intelligence  spread  an  additional  gloom  over  the  Span- 
iards, which  was  not  dispelled  by  the  flaming  pictures  now 
given  by  the  natives  of  the  riches  of  the  land,  and  of  the  state 
and  magnificence  of  the  monarch  in  his  distant  capital  among 
the  mountains.  Nor  did  they  credit  the  authenticity  of  a 
scroll  of  paper  which  Pizarro  had  obtained  from  an  Indian 
to  whom  it  had  been  delivered  by  one  of  the  white  men  left 
in  the  country.  “ Know,  whoever  you  may  be,”  said  the 
writing,  “ that  may  chance  to  set  foot  in  this  country,  that  it 
contains  more  gold  and  silver  than  there  is  iron  in  Biscay.” 
This  paper,  when  shown  to  the  soldiers,  excited  only  their  ridi- 
cule, as  a device  of  their  captain  to  keep  alive  their  chimerical 
hopes.2 

2 For  the  account  of  the  transactions  in  Tumbez,  see  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq., 
MS. — Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  z. — Relacion  del  primer  Des- 
cub., MS. — Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  4,  lib.  9,  cap.  1,  2. — Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap. 
Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  185. 


CH.  in.]  PIZARRO  RECONNOITRES  THE  COUNTRY.  263 


Pizarro  now  saw  that  it  was  not  politic  to  protract  his  stay- 
in  his  present  quarters,  where  a spirit  of  disaffection  would 
soon  creep  into  the  ranks  of  his  followers  unless  their  spirits 
were  stimulated  by  novelty  or  a life  of  incessant  action.  Yet 
he  felt  deeply  anxious  to  obtain  more  particulars  than  he  had 
hitherto  gathered  of  the  actual  condition  of  the  Peruvian  em- 
pire, of  its  strength  and  resources,  of  the  monarch  who  ruled 
over  it,  and  of  his  present  situation.  He  was  also  desirous,  be- 
fore taking  any  decisive  step  for  penetrating  the  country,  to 
seek  out  some  commodious  place  for  a settlement,  which  might 
afford  him  the  means  of  a regular  communication  with  the 
colonies,  and  a place  of  strength,  on  which  he  himself  might 
retreat  in  case  of  disaster. 

He  decided,  therefore,  to  leave  part  of  his  company  at  Tum- 
bez,  including  those  who,  from  the  state  of  their  health,  were 
least  able  to  take  the  field,  and  with  the  remainder  to  make  an 
excursion  into  the  interior  and  reconnoitre  the  land,  before  de- 
ciding on  any  plan  of  operations.  He  set  out  early  in  May, 
1532,  and,  keeping  along  the  more  level  regions  himself,  sent  a 
small  detachment  under  the  command  of  Hernando  de  Soto  to 
explore  the  skirts  of  the  vast  sierra. 

He  maintained  a rigid  discipline  on  the  march,  command- 
ing his  soldiers  to  abstain  from  all  acts  of  violence,  and  pun- 
ishing disobedience  in  the  most  prompt  and  resolute  manner.3 
The  natives  rarely  offered  resistance.  When  they  did  so,  they 
were  soon  reduced,  and  Pizarro,  far  from  adopting  vindictive 
measures,  was  open  to  the  first  demonstrations  of  submission. 
By  this  lenient  and  liberal  policy  he  soon  acquired  a name 
among  the  inhabitants  which  effaced  the  unfavorable  impres- 
sions made  of  him  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  campaign.  The 
natives,  as  he  marched  through  the  thick -settled  hamlets  which 
sprinkled  the  level  region  between  the  Cordilleras  and  the 
ocean,  welcomed  him  with  rustic  hospitality,  providing  good 
quarters  for  his  troops,  and  abundant  supplies,  which  cost  but 

s “ Mando  el  Gobemador  por  pregon  6 so  graves  penas  que  no  le  fuese  hecha  fuerza  ni 
descortesia,  6 que  se  les  hiciese  muy  buen  tratamiento  por  los  Espafioles  b sus  criados.” 
Oviedo,  Hist,  delas  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  2. 


264 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


little  in  the  prolific  soil  of  the  tierra  caliente . Everywhere 
Pizarro  made  proclamation  that  he  came  in  the  name  of  the 
Holy  Vicar  of  God  and  of  the  sovereign  of  Spain,  requiring  the 
obedience  of  the  inhabitants  as  true  children  of  the  Church  and 
vassals  of  his  lord  and  master.  And,  as  the  simple  people 
made  no  opposition  to  a formula  of  which  they  could  not  com' 
prehend  a syllable,  they  were  admitted  as  good  subjects  of  the 
crown  of  Castile,  and  their  act  of  homage — or  what  was  readily 
interpreted  as  such — was  duly  recorded  and  attested  by  the 
notary.4 

At  the  expiration  of  some  three  or  four  weeks  spent  in  re- 
connoitring the  country,  Pizarro  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  most  eligible  site  for  his  new  settlement  was  in  the  rich  val- 
ley of  Tangarala,  thirty  leagues  south  of  Tumbez,  traversed  by 
more  than  one  stream  that  opens  a communication  with  the 
ocean.  To  this  spot,  accordingly,  he  ordered  the  men  left  at 
Tumbez  to  repair  at  once  in  their  vessels ; and  no  sooner  had 
they  arrived  than  busy  preparations  were  made  for  building  up 
the  town  in  a manner  suited  to  the  wants  of  the  colony.  Tim- 
ber was  procured  from  the  neighboring  woods,  stones  were 
dragged  from  their  quarries,  and  edifices  gradually  rose,  some 
of  which  made  pretensions  to  strength,  if  not  to  elegance. 
Among  them  were  a church,  a magazine  for  public  stores,  a 
hall  of  justice,  and  a fortress.  A municipal  government  was 
organized,  consisting  of  regidores,  alcaldes,  and  the  usual  civic 
functionaries.  The  adjacent  territory  was  parcelled  out 
among  the  residents,  and  each  colonist  had  a certain  number 
of  the  natives  allotted  to  assist  him  in  his  labors ; for,  as  Pi- 
zarro’s  secretary  remarks,  “ it  being  evident  that  the  colonists 
could  not  support  themselves  without  the  services  of  the  In- 
dians, the  ecclesiastics  and  the  leaders  of  the  expedition  all 

4 “ E mandabales  notificar  6 dar  a entender  con  las  lenguas  el  requerimiento  que  su 
Magestad  manda  que  se  les  haga  a los  Indios  para  traellos  en  conocimiento  de  nuestra 
Santa  Ffe  catolica,  y requiriendoles  con  la  paz,  e que  obedezcan  a la  Iglesia  Catolica  e 
Apostolica  de  Roma,  fe  en  lo  temporal  den  la  obediencia  & su  Magestad  fe  A los  Reyes  sus 
succesores  en  los  regnos  de  Castilla  i de  Leon  ; respondieron  que  asi  lo  querian  fe  harian, 
guardarian  fe  cumplirian  enteramente ; fe  el  Gobemador  los  recibio  por  tales  vasallos  de 
sus  Magestades  por  auto  publico  de  notarios.”  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  ubi 
supra. 


chap,  hi.]  FOUNDATION  OF  SAN  MIGUEL. 


265 


agreed  that  a repartimiento  of  the  natives  would  serve  the 
cause  of  religion,  and  tend  greatly  to  their  spiritual  welfare, 
since  they  would  thus  have  the  opportunity  of  being  initiated 
in  the  true  faith.  ’ ’ 5 

Having  made  these  arrangements  with  such  conscientious 
regard  to  the  welfare  of  the  benighted  heathen,  Pizarro  gave 
his  infant  city  the  name  of  San  Miguel,  in  acknowledgment 
of  the  service  rendered  him  by  that  saint  in  his  battles  with 
the  Indians  of  Puna.  The  site  originally  occupied  by  the 
settlement  was  afterward  found  to  be  so  unhealthy  that  it 
was  abandoned  for  another  on  the  banks  of  the  beautiful 
Piura.  The  town  is  still  of  some  note  for  its  manufactures, 
though  dwindled  from  its  ancient  importance  ; but  the  name 
of  San  Miguel  de  Piura,  which  it  bears,  still  commemorates 
the  foundation  of  the  first  European  colony  in  the  empire  of 
the  Incas. 

Before  quitting  the  new  settlement,  Pizarro  caused  the  gold 
and  silver  ornaments  which  he  had  obtained  in  different  parts 
of  the  country  to  be  melted  down  into  one  mass,  and  a fifth  to 
be  deducted  for  the  crown.  The  remainder,  which  belonged 
to  the  troops,  he  persuaded  them  to  relinquish  for  the  present, 
under  the  assurance  of  being  repaid  from  the  first  spoils  that  fell 
into  their  hands.6  With  these  funds,  and  other  articles  col- 
lected in  the  course  of  the  campaign,  he  sent  back  the  vessels 
to  Panama.  The  gold  was  applied  to  paying  off  the  ship- 
owners and  those  who  had  furnished  the  stores  for  the  expe- 
dition. That  he  should  so  easily  have  persuaded  his  men  to 
resign  present  possessions  for  a future  contingency  is  proof  that 
the  spirit  of  enterprise  was  renewed  in  their  bosoms  in  all  its 

5 Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS. — Cieza  de  Leon, 
Cronica,  cap.  55. — Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. — “Porque  losVecinos,  sin  aiuda  i 
servicios  de  los  Naturales  no  se  podian  sostener,  ni  poblarse  el  Pueblo.  ...  A esta 
causa,  con  acuerdo  de  el  Religioso,  i de  los  Oficiales,  que  les  parecio  convenir  asi  al  servicio 
de  Dios,  i bien  de  los  Naturales,  el  Gobernador  deposito  los  Caciques,  i Indios  en  los 
Vecinos  de  este  Pueblo,  porque  los  aiudasen  a sostener,  i los  Christianos  los  doctrinasen  en 
nuestra  Santa  Fe,  conforme  a los  Mandamientos  de  su  Mages  tad.”  Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru, 
ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  187. 

6 “ E sacado  el  quinto  para  su  Magestad,  lo  restante  que  pertenecio  al  Egercito  de  la 
Conquista,  el  Gobernador  le  tomo  prestado  de  los  companeros  para  se  lo  paga  del  primer 
oroque  se  obiese.”  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  2. 


266 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


former  vigor,  and  that  they  looked  forward  with  the  same 
buoyant  confidence  to  the  results. 

In  his  late  tour  of  observation  the  Spanish  commander  had 
gathered  much  important  intelligence  in  regard  to  the  state  of 
the  kingdom.  He  had  ascertained  the  result  of  the  struggle 
between  the  Inca  brothers,  and  that  the  victor  now  lay  with  his 
army  encamped  at  the  distance  of  only  ten  or  twelve  days* 
journey  from  San  Miguel.  The  accounts  he  heard  of  the  opu- 
lence and  power  of  that  monarch,  and  of  his  great  southern 
capital,  perfectly  corresponded  with  the  general  rumors  before 
received,  and  contained,  therefore,  something  to  stagger  the 
confidence,  as  well  as  to  stimulate  the  cupidity,  of  the  in- 
vaders. 

Pizarro  would  gladly  have  seen  his  little  army  strengthened 
by  reinforcements,  however  small  the  amount,  and  on  that 
account  postponed  his  departure  for  several  weeks.  But  no  re- 
inforcement arrived ; and,  as  he  received  no  further  tidings 
from  his  associates,  he  judged  that  longer  delay  would  probably 
be  attended  with  evils  greater  than  those  to  be  encountered  on 
the  march ; that  discontents  would  inevitably  spring  up  in  a 
life  of  inaction,  and  the  strength  and  spirits  of  the  soldier  sink 
under  the  enervating  influence  of  a tropical  climate.  Yet  the 
force  at  his  command,  amounting  to  less  than  two  hundred 
soldiers  in  all,  after  reserving  fifty  for  the  protection  of  the  new 
settlement,  seemed  but  a small  one  for  the  conquest  of  an 
empire.  He  might,  indeed,  instead  of  marching  against  the 
Inca,  take  a southerly  direction  toward  the  rich  capital  of 
Cuzco.  But  this  would  only  be  to  postpone  the  hour  of  reck- 
oning. For  in  what  quarter  of  the  empire  could  he  hope  to 
set  his  foot,  where  the  arm  of  its  master  would  not  reach  him  ? 
By  such  a course,  moreover,  he  would  show  his  own  distrust  of 
himself.  He  would  shake  that  opinion  of  his  invincible  prowess 
which  he  had  hitherto  endeavored  to  impress  on  the  natives, 
and  which  constituted  a great  secret  of  his  strength  ; which,  in 
short,  held  sterner  sway  over  the  mind  than  the  display  of  num- 
bers and  mere  physical  force.  Worse  than  all,  such  a course 
would  impair  the  confidence  of  his  troops  in  themselves  and 


CHAP, fill,]  MARCH  INTO  THE  INTERIOR.  2 67 

their  reliance  on  himself.  This  would  be  to  palsy  the  arm  of 
enterprise  at  once.  It  was  not  to  be  thought  of. 

But,  while  Pizarro  decided  to  march  into  the  interior,  it  is 
doubtful  whether  he  had  formed  any  more  definite  plan  of 
action.  We  have  no  means  of  knowing  his  intentions,  at  this 
distance  of  time,  otherwise  than  as  they  are  shown  by  his 
actions.  Unfortunately,  he  could  not  write,  and  he  has  left  no 
record,  like  the  inestimable  Commentaries  of  Cortes,  to  en- 
lighten us  as  to  his  motives.  His  secretary,  and  some  of  his 
companions  in  arms,  have  recited  his  actions  in  detail ; but  the 
motives  which  led  to  them  they  were  not  always  so  competent 
to  disclose. 

It  is  possible  that  the  Spanish  general,  even  so  early  as  the 
period  of  his  residence  at  San  Miguel,  may  have  meditated 
some  daring  stroke,  some  effective  coup-de-main , which,  like 
that  of  Cortes  when  he  carried  off  the  Aztec  monarch  to  his 
quarters,  might  strike  terror  into  the  hearts  of  the  people  and 
at  once  decide  the  fortunes  of  the  day.  It  is  more  probable, 
however,  that  he  now  only  proposed  to  present  himself  before 
the  Inca  as  the  peaceful  representative  of  a brother  monarch, 
and  by  these  friendly  demonstrations  disarm  any  feeling  of 
hostility,  or  even  of  suspicion.  When  once  in  communication 
with  the  Indian  prince,  he  could  regulate  his  future  course  by 
circumstances. 

On  September  24,  1532,  five  months  after  landing  at  Tum- 
bez,  Pizarro  marched  out  at  the  head  of  his  little  body  of  ad- 
venturers from  the  gates  of  San  Miguel,  having  enjoined  it  on 
the  colonists  to  treat  their  Indian  vassals  with  humanity  and  to 
conduct  themselves  in  such  a manner  as  would  secure  the  good 
will  of  the  surrounding  tribes.  Their  own  existence,  and  with 
it  the  safety  of  the  army  and  the  success  of  the  undertaking, 
depended  on  this  course.  In  the  place  were  to  remain  the 
royal  treasurer,  the  veedor , or  inspector  of  metals,  and  other 
officers  of  the  crown ; and  the  command  of  the  garrison  was 
intrusted  to  the  contador , Antonio  Navarro.7  Then,  putting 

’ Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  187. — Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq., 
MS. — Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  10. 

Peru  12 


Yol.  1 


268 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU \ 


[book  iil 


himself  at  the  head  of  his  troops,  the  chief  struck  boldly  into 
the  heart  of  the  country  in  the  direction  where,  as  he  was  in- 
formed, lay  the  camp  of  the  Inca.  It  was  a daring  enterprise, 
thus  to  venture  with  a handful  of  followers  into  the  heart  of  a 
powerful  empire,  to  present  himself  face  to  face  before  the 
Indian  monarch  in  his  own  camp,  encompassed  by  the  flower 
of  his  victorious  army  ! Pizarro  had  already  experienced  more 
than  once  the  difficulty  of  maintaining  his  ground  against  the 
rude  tribes  of  the  north,  so  much  inferior  in  strength  and 
numbers  to  the  warlike  legions  of  Peru.  But  the  hazard  of  the 
game,  as  I have  already  more  than  once  had  occasion  to  remark, 
constituted  its  great  charm  with  the  Spaniard.  The  brilliant 
achievements  of  his  countrymen,  on  the  like  occasions,  with 
means  so  inadequate,  inspired  him  with  confidence  in  his  own 
good  star,  and  this  confidence  was  one  source  of  his  success. 
Had  he  faltered  for  a moment,  had  he  stopped  to  calculate 
chances,  he  must  inevitably  have  failed  ; for  the  odds  were  too 
great  to  be  combated  by  sober  reason.  They  were  only  to  be 
met  triumphantly  by  the  spirit  of  the  knight-errant. 

After  crossing  the  smooth  waters  of  the  Piura,  the  little  army 
continued  to  advance  over  a level  district  intersected  by  streams 
that  descended  from  the  neighboring  Cordilleras.  The  face  of 
the  country  was  shagged  over  with  forests  of  gigantic  growth, 
and  occasionally  traversed  by  ridges  of  barren  land,  that  seemed 
like  shoots  of  the  adjacent  Andes,  breaking  up  the  region  into 
little  sequestered  valleys  of  singular  loveliness.  The  soil, 
though  rarely  watered  by  the  rains  of  heaven,  was  naturally 
rich,  and  wherever  it  was  refreshed  by  moisture,  as  on  the  mar- 
gins of  the  streams,  it  was  enamelled  with  the  brightest  verd- 
ure. The  industry  of  the  inhabitants,  moreover,  had  turned 
these  streams  to  the  best  account,  and  canals  and  aqueducts 
were  seen  crossing  the  low  lands  in  all  directions,  and  spread- 
ing over  the  country,  like  a vast  net-work,  diffusing  fertility 
and  beauty  around  them.  The  air  was  scented  with  the  sweet 
odors  of  flowers,  and  everywhere  the  eye  was  refreshed  by  the 
sight  of  orchards  laden  with  unknown  fruits,  and  of  fields  wav- 
ing with  yellow  grain,  and  rich  in  luscious  vegetables  of  every 


CHAP.  III.] 


MARCH  INTO  THE  INTERIOR. 


269 


description  that  teem  in  the  sunny  clime  of  the  equator.  The 
Spaniards  were  among  a people  who  had  carried  the  refine- 
ments of  husbandry  to  a greater  extent  than  any  yet  found  on 
the  American  continent ; and,  as  they  journeyed  through  this 
paradise  of  plenty,  their  condition  formed  a pleasing  contrast 
to  what  they  had  before  endured  in  the  dreary  wilderness  of 
the  mangroves. 

Everywhere,  too,  they  were  received  with  confiding  hospi- 
tality by  the  simple  people  ; for  which  they  were  no  doubt  in- 
debted, in  a great  measure,  to  their  own  inoffensive  deport- 
ment. Every  Spaniard  seemed  to  be  aware  that  his  only 
chance  of  success  lay  in  conciliating  the  good  opinion  of  the 
inhabitants  among  whom  he  had  so  recklessly  cast  his  fortunes. 
In  most  of  the  hamlets,  and  in  every  place  of  considerable  size, 
some  fortress  was  to  be  found,  or  royal  caravansary,  destined 
for  the  Inca  on  his  progresses,  the  ample  halls  of  which  fur- 
nished abundant  accommodations  for  the  Spaniards ; who  were 
thus  provided  with  quarters  along  their  route  at  the  charge  of 
the  very  government  which  they  were  preparing  to  overturn.8 

On  the  fifth  day  after  leaving  San  Miguel,  Pizarro  halted  in 
one  of  these  delicious  valleys,  to  give  his  troops  repose,  and  to 
make  a more  complete  inspection  of  them.  Their  number 
amounted  in  all  to  one  hundred  and  seventy-seven,  of  which 
sixty-seven  were  cavalry.  He  mustered  only  three  arquebu- 
siers  in  his  whole  company,  and  a few  crossbow-men,  alto- 
gether not  exceeding  twenty.9  The  troops  were  tolerably  well 
equipped,  and  in  good  condition.  But  the  watchful  eye  of 
their  commander  noticed  with  uneasiness  that,  notwithstanding 
the  general  heartiness  in  the  cause  manifested  by  his  followers, 
there  were  some  among  them  whose  countenance  lowered  with 
discontent,  and  who,  although  they  did  not  give  vent  to  it  in 
open  murmurs,  were  far  from  moving  with  their  wonted  alac- 

8 Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  4. — Naharro,  Relacion  sumaria, 
MS. — Conq.  i Pob.  del  Pirn,  MS. — Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. 

9 There  is  less  discrepancy  in  the  estimate  of  the  Spanish  force  here  than  usual.  The 
paucity  of  numbers  gave  less  room  for  it.  No  account  carries  them  as  high  as  two  hundred. 
I have  adopted  that  of  the  secretary  Xerez  (Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  187), 
who  has  been  followed  by  Oviedo  (Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  x,  cap.  3)  and 
by  the  judicious  Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  5,  lib.  x,  cap.  2. 


270 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


rity.  He  was  aware  that  if  this  spirit  became  contagious  it 
would  be  the  ruin  of  the  enterprise ; and  he  thought  it  best  to 
exterminate  the  gangrene  at  once,  and  at  whatever  cost,  than 
to  wait  until  it  had  infected  the  whole  system.  He  came  to 
an  extraordinary  resolution. 

Calling  his  men  together,  he  told  them  that  “ a crisis  had  now 
arrived  in  their  affairs,  which  it  demanded  all  their  courage  to 
meet.  No  man  should  think  of  going  forward  in  the  expedi- 
tion who  could  not  do  so  with  his  whole  heart,  or  who  had  the 
least  misgiving  as  to  its  success.  If  any  repented  of  his  share 
in  it,  it  was  not  too  late  to  turn  back.  San  Miguel  was  but 
poorly  garrisoned,  and  he  should  be  glad  to  see  it  in  greater 
strength.  Those  who  chose  might  return  to  this  place,  and 
they  should  be  entitled  to  the  same  proportion  of  lands  and 
Indian  vassals  as  the  present  residents.  With  the  rest,  were 
they  few  or  many,  who  chose  to  take  their  chance  with  him, 
he  should  pursue  the  adventure  to  the  end.”  10 

It  was  certainly  a remarkable  proposal  for  a commander  who 
was  ignorant  of  the  amount  of  disaffection  in  his  ranks,  and 
who  could  not  safely  spare  a single  man  from  his  force,  already 
far  too  feeble  for  the  undertaking.  Yet,  by  insisting  on  the 
wants  of  the  little  colony  of  San  Miguel,  he  afforded  a decent 
pretext  for  the  secession  of  the  malecontents,  and  swept  away 
the  barrier  of  shame  which  might  have  still  held  them  in  the 
camp.  Notwithstanding  the  fair  opening  thus  afforded,  there 
were  but  few,  nine  in  all,  who  availed  themselves  of  the  gener- 
al’s permission.  Four  of  these  belonged  to  the  infantry,  and 
five  to  the  horse.  The  rest  loudly  declared  their  resolve  to  go 
forward  with  their  brave  leader  ; and,  if  there  were  some  whose 
voices  were  faint  amidst  the  general  acclamation,  they  at  least 
relinquished  the  right  of  complaining  hereafter,  since  they  had 
voluntarily  rejected  the  permission  to  return.11  This  stroke  of 

10  “ Que  todos  los  que  quiriesen  bolverse  a la  ciudad  de  San  Miguel  y avecindarse  alii 
demas  de  los  vecinos  que  alii  quedaban  el  les  depositaria  repartimientos  de  Indios  con  que 
se  sostubiesen  como  lo  habia  hecho  con  los  otros  vecinos  ; e que  con  los  Espanoles  que 
quedasen,  pocos  6 muchos,  iria  & conquistar  e pacificar  la  tierra  en  demanda  y persecucion 
delcamino  que  llevaba.”  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  3. 

11  Ibid.,  MS.,  loc.  cit. — Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  5,  lib.  1,  cap.  2. — Xerer,  Conq.  del 
Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  187. 


CHAP.  III.] 


MARCH  INTO  THE  INTERIOR. 


271 


policy  in  their  sagacious  captain  was  attended  with  the  best  ef- 
fects. He  had  winnowed  out  the  few  grains  of  discontent 
which,  if  left  to  themselves,  might  have  fermented  in  secret  till 
the  whole  mass  had  swelled  into  mutiny.  Cortes  had  compelled 
his  men  to  go  forward  heartily  in  his  enterprise  by  burning 
their  vessels  and  thus  cutting  off  the  only  means  of  retreat. 
Pizarro,  on  the  other  hand,  threw  open  the  gates  to  the  disaf- 
fected and  facilitated  their  departure.  Both  judged  right,  under 
their  peculiar  circumstances,  and  both  were  perfectly  successful. 

Feeling  himself  strengthened,  instead  of  weakened,  by  his 
loss,  Pizarro  now  resumed  his  march,  and  on  the  second  day 
arrived  before  a place  called  Zaran,  situated  in  a fruitful  valley 
among  the  mountains.  Some  of  the  inhabitants  had  been 
drawn  off  to  swell  the  levies  of  Atahuallpa.  The  Spaniards 
had  repeated  experience  on  their  march  of  the  oppressive  ex- 
actions of  the  Inca,  who  had  almost  depopulated  some  of  the 
valleys  to  obtain  reinforcements  for  his  army.  The  curaca  of 
the  Indian  town  where  Pizarro  now  arrived  received  him  with 
kindness  and  hospitality,  and  the  troops  were  quartered  as 
usual  in  one  of  the  royal  tambos  or  caravansaries,  which  were 
found  in  all  the  principal  places.12 

Yet  the  Spaniards  saw  no  signs  of  their  approach  to  the  royal 
encampment,  though  more  time  had  already  elapsed  than  was 
originally  allowed  for  reaching  it.  Shortly  before  entering 
Zaran,  Pizarro  had  heard  that  a Peruvian  garrison  was  estab- 
lished in  a.  place  called  Caxas,  lying  among  the  hills,  at  no 
great  distance  from  his  present  quarters.  He  immediately  de- 
spatched a small  party  under  Hernando  de  Soto  in  that  direc- 
tion, to  reconnoitre  the  ground,  and  bring  him  intelligence  of 
the  actual  state  of  things,  at  Zaran,  where  he  would  halt  until 
his  officer’s  return. 

Day  after  day  passed  on,  and  a week  had  elapsed  before  tid- 
ings were  received  of  his  companions,  and  Pizarro  was  becom- 
ing seriously  alarmed  for  their  fate,  when  on  the  eighth  morn- 
ing Soto  appeared,  bringing  with  him  an  envoy  from  the  Inca 
himself.  He  was  a person  of  rank,  and  was  attended  by  several 

12  Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS, 


272 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


followers  of  inferior  condition.  He  had  met  the  Spaniards  at 
Caxas,  and  now  accompanied  them  on  their  return,  to  deliver 
his  sovereign’s  message,  with  a present  to  the  Spanish  com- 
mander. The  present  consisted  of  two  fountains,  made  of 
stone,  in  the  form  of  fortresses  ; some  fine  stuffs  of  woollen  em- 
broidered with  gold  and  silver  ; and  a quantity  of  goose-flesh, 
dried  and  seasoned  in  a peculiar  manner,  and  much  used  as  a 
perfume,  in  a pulverized  state,  by  the  Peruvian  nobles.13  The 
Indian  ambassador  came  charged  also  with  his  master’s  greet- 
ing to  the  strangers,  whom  Atahuallpa  welcomed  to  his  country 
and  invited  to  visit  him  in  his  camp  among  the  mountains.14 

Pizarro  well  understood  that  the  Inca’s  object  in  this  diplo- 
matic visit  was  less  to  do  him  courtesy  than  to  inform  himself 
of  the  strength  and  condition  of  the  invaders.  But  he  was  well 
pleased  with  the  embassy,  and  dissembled  his  consciousness  of 
its  real  purpose.  He  caused  the  Peruvian  to  be  entertained  in 
the  best  manner  the  camp  could  afford,  and  paid  him  the  re- 
spect, says  one  of  the  Conquerors,  due  to  the  ambassador  of  so 
great  a monarch.15  Pizarro  urged  him  to  prolong  his  visit  for 
some  days,  which  the  Indian  envoy  declined,  but  made  the 
most  of  his  time  while  there,  by  gleaning  all  the  information  he 
could  in  respect  to  the  use  of  every  strange  article  which  he 
saw,  as  well  as  the  object  of  the  white  men’s  visit  to  the  land, 
and  the  quarter  whence  they  came. 

13  “ Dos  Fortalegas,  a manera  de  Fuente,  figuradas  en  Piedra,  con  que  beba,  i dos 
cargas  de  Patos  secos,  desollados,  para  que  hechos  polvos,  se  sahume  con  ellos,  porque  asi 
se  usa  entre  los  Senores  de  su  Tierra  ; i que  le  embiaba  a decir,  que  el  tiene  voluntad  de 
ser  su  Amigo,  i esperalle  de  Paz  en  Caxamalca.”  Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia, 
tom.  iii.,  p.  189. 

14  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3, 
lib.  8,  cap.  3. — Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. — Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia, 
tom.  iii.,  p.  189. — Garcilasso  de  la  Vega  tells  us  that  Atahuallpa’s  envoy  addressed  the 
Spanish  commander  in  the  most  humble  and  deprecatory  manner,  as  Son  of  the  Sun  and 
of  the  great  God  Viracocha.  He  adds  that  he  was  loaded  with  a prodigious  present  of  all 
kinds  of  game,  living  and  dead,  gold  and  silver  vases,  emeralds,  turquoises,  etc.,  etc., 
enough  to  furnish  out  the  finest  chapter  of  the  Arabian  Nights.  (Com.  Real.,  Parte  2,  lib. 
1,  cap.  19.)  It  is  extraordinary  that  none  of  the  Conquerors,  who  had  a quick  eye  for  these 
dainties,  should  allude  to  them.  One  cannot  but  suspect  that  the  “old  uncle”  was  amusing 
himself  at  his  young  nephew’s  expense — and,  as  it  has  proved,  at  the  expense  of  most  of 
his  readers,  who  receive  the  Inca’s  fairy-tales  as  historic  facts. 

15  “ I mando,  que  le  diesen  de  comer  A el,  i A los  que  con  el  venian,  i todo  lo  que  huviesen 
menester,  i fuesen  bien  aposentados,  como  Embajadores  de  tan  Gran  Senot.”  Xerez, 
Conq.  del  Peru,  ap,  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  189. 


CHAP.  III.] 


EMBASSY  FROM  THE  INCA. 


273 


The  Spanish  captain  satisfied  his  curiosity  in  all  these  par- 
ticulars. The  intercourse  with  the  natives,  it  may  be  here  re- 
marked, was  maintained  by  means  of  two  of  the  youths  who  had 
accompanied  the  Conquerors  on  their  return  home  from  their 
preceding  voyage.  They  had  been  taken  by  Pizarro  to  Spain, 
and,  as  much  pains  had  been  bestowed  on  teaching  them  the 
Castilian,  they  now  filled  the  office  of  interpreters  and  opened 
an  easy  communication  with  their  countrymen.  It  was  of 
inestimable  service ; and  well  did  the  Spanish  commander  reap 
the  fruits  of  his  forecast.16 

On  the  departure  of  the  Peruvian  messenger,  Pizarro  pre- 
sented him  with  a cap  of  crimson  cloth,  some  cheap  but  showy 
ornaments  of  glass,  and  other  toys,  which  he  had  brought  for 
the  purpose  from  Castile.  He  charged  the  envoy  to  tell  his 
master  that  the  Spaniards  came  from  a powerful  prince  who 
dwelt  far  beyond  the  waters  ; that  they  had  heard  much  of  the 
fame  of  Atahuallpa’s  victories,  and  were  come  to  pay  their 
respects  to  him,  and  to  offer  their  services  by  aiding  him  with 
their  arms  against  his  enemies  ; and  he  might  be  assured  they 
would  not  halt  on  the  road  longer  than  was  necessary,  before 
presenting  themselves  before  him. 

Pizarro  now  received  from  Soto  a full  account  of  his  late 
expedition.  That  chief,  on  entering  Caxas,  found  the  inhabi- 
tants mustered  in  hostile  array,  as  if  to  dispute  his  passage. 
But  the  cavalier  soon  convinced  them  of  his  pacific  intentions, 
and,  laying  aside  their  menacing  attitude,  they  received  the 
Spaniards  with  the  same  courtesy  which  had  been  shown  them 
in  most  places  on  their  march. 

Here  Soto  found  one  of  the  royal  officers,  employed  in  col- 
lecting the  tribute  for  the  government.  From  this  functionary 
he  learned  that  the  Inca  was  quartered  with  a large  army  at 
Caxamalca,  a place  of  considerable  size  on  the  other  side  of 

1 6 “ Los  Indios  de  la  tierra  se  entendian  muy  bien  con  los  Espanoles,  porque  aquellos 
mochachos  Indio,  que  en  el  descubrimiento  de  la  tierra  Pizarro  truxo  a Espana,  entendian 
muy  bien  nuestra  lengua,  y los  tenia  alii,  con  los  cuales  se  entendia  muy  bien  con  todos  los 
naturales  de  la  tierra.”  (Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS.)  Yet  it  is  a proof  of  the  ludi- 
crous blunders  into  which  the  Conquerors  were  perpetually  falling,  that  Pizarro’s  secretary 
constantly  confounds  the  Inca’s  name  with  that  of  his  capital.  Huayna  Capac  he  always 
Styles  “old  Cuzco,”  and  his  son  Huascar  “young  Cuzco.” 


274 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  hi 


the  Cordillera,  where  he  was  enjoying  the  luxury  of  the  warm 
baths,  supplied  by  natural  springs,  for  which  it  was  then  fa- 
mous, as  it  is  at  the  present  day.  The  cavalier  gathered,  also, 
much  important  information  in  regard  to  the  resources  and  the 
general  policy  of  government,  the  state  maintained  by  the 
Inca,  and  the  stern  severity  with  which  obedience  to  the  law 
was  everywhere  enforced.  He  had  some  opportunity  of  ob- 
serving this  for  himself,  as,  on  entering  the  village,  he  saw 
several  Indians  hanging  dead  by  their  heels,  having  been  exe- 
cuted for  some  violence  offered  to  the  Virgins  of  the  Sun,  of 
whom  there  was  a convent  in  the  neighborhood. 17 

From  Caxas,  De  Soto  had  passed  to  the  adjacent  town  of 
Guancabamba,  much  larger,  more  populous,  and  better  built 
than  the  preceding.  The  houses,  instead  of  being  made  of 
clay  baked  in  the  sun,  were  many  of  them  constructed  of  solid 
stone,  so  nicely  put  together  that  it  was  impossible  to  detect 
the  line  of  junction.  A river  which  passed  through  the  town 
was  traversed  by  a bridge,  and  the  high-road  of  the  Incas 
which  crossed  this  district  was  far  superior  to  that  which  the 
Spaniards  had  seen  on  the  sea-board.  It  was  raised  in  many 
places,  like  a causeway,  paved  with  heavy  stone  flags,  and 
bordered  by  trees  that  afforded  a grateful  shade  to  the  passen- 
ger, while  streams  of  water  were  conducted  through  aqueducts 
along  the  sides  to  slake  his  thirst.  At  certain  distances,  also, 
they  noticed  small  houses,  which,  they  were  told,  were  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  traveller,  who  might  thus  pass  without 
inconvenience  from  one  end  of  the  kingdom  to  the  other.18  In 
another  quarter  they  beheld  one  of  those  magazines  destined 
for  the  army,  filled  with  grain  and  with  articles  of  clothing  ; 
and  at  the  entrance  of  the  town  was  a stone  building,  occu- 
pied by  a public  officer,  whose  business  it  was  to  collect  the 
tolls  or  duties  on  various  commodities  brought  into  the  place 

17  “ A la  entrada  del  Pueblo  havia  ciertos  Indios  ahorcados  de  los  pies  : i supo  de  este 
Principal,  que  Atabalipa  los  mando  matar,  porque  uno  de  ellos  entro  en  la  Casa  de  las  Mu* 
geres  d,  dormir  con  una  : al  qual,  i d todos  los  Porteros  que  consintieron,  ahorco.”  Xerez, 
Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  188. 

18  “ Van  por  este  camino  canos  de  agua  de  donde  los  caminantes  beben,  traidos  de  sus 
nacimientos  de  otras  partes,  y d cada  jornada  una  Casa  a manera  de  Venta  donde  se  apo- 
sentan  los  aue  van  e vienen.”  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  India s,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  3. 


CHAP.  III.]  A D VENTURES  OH  THE  MATCH. 


275 


or  carried  out  of  it.19  These  accounts  of  De  Soto  not  only- 
confirmed  all  that  the  Spaniards  had  heard  of  the  Indian  em- 
pire, but  greatly  raised  their  ideas  of  its  resources  and  domestic 
policy.  They  might  well  have  shaken  the  confidence  of  hearts 
less  courageous. 

Pizarro,  before  leaving  his  present  quarters,  despatched  a 
messenger  to  San  Miguel  with  particulars  of  his  movements, 
sending  at  the  same  time  the  articles  received  from  the  Inca, 
as  well  as  those  obtained  at  different  places  on  the  route.  The 
skill  shown  in  the  execution  of  some  of  these  fabrics  sent  to 
Castile  excited  great  admiration  there.  The  fine  woollen 
cloths,  especially,  with  their  rich  embroidery,  were  pronounced 
equal  to  textures  of  silk,  from  which  it  was  not  easy  to  distin- 
guish them.  The  material  was  probably  the  delicate  wool  of 
the  vicuna,  none  of  which  had  then  been  seen  in  Europe.20 

Pizarro,  having  now  acquainted  himself  with  the  most  direct 
route  to  Caxamalca  — the  Caxamarca  of  the  present  day  — 
resumed  his  march,  taking  a direction  nearly  south.  The  first 
place  of  any  size  at  which  he  halted  was  Motupe,  pleasantly 
situated  in  a fruitful  valley,  among  hills  of  no  great  elevation, 
which  cluster  round  the  base  of  the  Cordilleras.  The  place 
was  deserted  by  its  curaca,  who,  with  three  hundred  of  its 
warriors,  had  gone  to  join  the  standard  of  their  Inca.  Here 
the  general,  notwithstanding  his  avowed  purpose  to  push  for- 
ward without  delay,  halted  four  days.  The  tardiness  of  his 
movements  can  be  explained  only  by  the  hope  which  he  may 
have  still  entertained  of  being  joined  by  further  reinforcements 
before  crossing  the  Cordilleras.  None  such  appeared,  how- 
ever ; and,  advancing  across  a country  in  which  tracts  of  sandy 
plain  were  occasionally  relieved  by  a broad  expanse  of  verdant 
meadow,  watered  by  natural  streams  and  still  more  abundantly 

19  “ A la  entrada  de  este  Camino  en  el  Pueblo  de  Cajas  esta  una  casa  al  principio  de  una 
puente  donde  reside  una  guarda  que  recibe  el  Portazgo  de  todos  los  que  van  e vienen,  e 
paganlo  en  la  misma  cosa  que  llevan,  y ninguno  puede  sacar  carga  del  Pueblo  sino  la  mete, 
y esta  costumbre  es  alii  antigua."  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  ubi  supra. 

20  « piezas  de  lana  de  la  tierra,  que  era  cosa  mucho  de  ver  segun  su  primer  e gentileza,  fe 
no  se  sabian  determinar  si  era  seda  6 lana  segun  su  fineza  con  mucbas  labores  i figuras  de 
oro  de  martillo  de  tal  manera  asentado  en  la  ropa  que  era  cosa  de  marabillar. ” Oviedo. 
Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  4. 


276 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


by  those  brought  through  artificial  channels,  the  troops  at 
length  arrived  at  the  borders  of  a river.  It  was  broad  and 
deep,  and  the  rapidity  of  the  current  opposed  more  than  ordi- 
nary difficulty  to  the  passage.  Pizarro,  apprehensive  lest  this 
might  be  disputed  by  the  natives  on  the  opposite  bank,  ordered 
his  brother  Hernando  to  cross  over  with  a small  detachment 
under  cover  of  night  and  secure  a safe  landing  for  the  rest  of 
the  troops.  At  break  of  day  Pizarro  made  preparations  for  his 
own  passage,  by  hewing  timber  in  the  neighboring  woods  and 
constructing  a sort  of  floating  bridge,  on  which  before  night- 
fall the  whole  company  passed  in  safety,  the  horses  swimming, 
being  led  by  the  bridle.  It  was  a day  of  severe  labor,  and 
Pizarro  tpok  his  own  share  in  it  freely,  like  a common  soldier, 
having  ever  a word  of  encouragement  to  say  to  his  followers. 

On  reaching  the  opposite  side,  they  learned  from  their  com- 
rades that  the  people  of  the  country,  instead  of  offering  resist- 
ance, had  fled  in  dismay.  One  of  them,  having  been  taken 
and  brought  before  Hernando  Pizarro,  refused  to  answer  the 
questions  put  to  him  respecting  the  Inca  and  his  army ; till, 
being  put  to  the  torture,  he  stated  that  Atahuallpa  was  en- 
camped, with  his  whole  force,  in  three  separate  divisions,  oc- 
cupying the  high  grounds  and  plains  of  Caxamalca.  He 
further  stated  that  the  Inca  was  aware  of  the  approach  of  the 
white  men  and  of  their  small  number,  and  that  he  was  pur- 
posely decoying  them  into  his  own  quarters,  that  he  might 
have  them  more  completely  in  his  power. 

This  account,  when  reported  by  Hernando  to  his  brother, 
caused  the  latter  much  anxiety.  As  the  timidity  of  the 
peasantry,  however,  gradually  wore  off,  some  of  them  mingled 
with  the  troops,  and  among  them  the  curaca  or  principal  per- 
son of  the  village.  He  had  himself  visited  the  royal  camp, 
and  he  informed  the  general  that  Atahuallpa  lay  at  the  strong 
town  of  Huamachuco,  twenty  leagues  or  more  south  of  Caxa- 
malca, with  an  army  of  at  least  fifty  thousand  men. 

These  contradictory  statements  greatly  perplexed  the  chief- 
tain ; and  he  proposed  to  one  of  the  Indians  who  had  borne 
him  company  during  a great  part  of  the  march,  to  go  as  a spy 


CHAP,  hi.]  ADVENTURES  ON  THE  MARCH. 


2 77 


into  the  Inca’s  quarters  and  bring  him  intelligence  of  his 
actual  position,  and,  as  far  as  he  could  learn  them,  of  his  inten- 
tions toward  the  Spaniards.  But  the  man  positively  declined 
this  dangerous  service,  though  he  professed  his  willingness  to 
go  as  an  authorized  messenger  of  the  Spanish  commander. 

Pizarro  acquiesced  in  this  proposal,  and  instructed  his  envoy 
to  assure  the  Inca  that  he  was  advancing  with  all  convenient 
speed  to  meet  him.  He  was  to  acquaint  the  monarch  with  the 
uniformly  considerate  conduct  of  the  Spaniards  toward  his 
subjects  in  their  progress  through  the  land,  and  to  assure  him 
that  they  were  now  coming  in  full  confidence  of  finding  in  him 
the  same  amicable  feelings  toward  themselves.  The  emissary 
was  particularly  instructed  to  observe  if  the  strong  passes  on 
the  road  were  defended,  or  if  any  preparations  of  a hostile 
character  were  to  be  discerned.  This  last  intelligence  he  was  to 
communicate  to  the  general  by  means  of  two  or  three  nimble- 
footed attendants  who  were  to  accompany  him  on  his  mission.21 

Having  taken  this  precaution,  the  wary  commander  again 
resumed  his  march,  and  at  the  end  of  three  days  reached  the 
base  of  the  mountain-rampart  behind  which  lay  the  ancient 
town  of  Caxamalca.  Before  him  rose  the  stupendous  Andes, 
rock  piled  upon  rock,  their  skirts  below  dark  with  evergreen 
forests,  varied  here  and  there  by  terraced  patches  of  culti- 
vated garden,  with  the  peasant’s  cottage  clinging  to  their 
shaggy  sides,  and  their  crests  of  snow  glittering  high  in  the 
heavens — presenting  altogether  such  a wild  chaos  of  magnifi- 
cence and  beauty  as  no  other  mountain-scenery  in  the  world 
can  show.  Across  this  tremendous  rampart,  through  a labyrinth 
of  passes,  easily  capable  of  defence  by  a handful  of  men  against 
an  army,  the  troops  were  now  to  march.  To  the  right  ran  a 
broad  and  level  road,  with  its  border  of  friendly  shades,  and 
wide  enough  for  two  carriages  to  pass  abreast.  It  was  one  of 
the  great  routes  leading  to  Cuzco,  and  seemed  by  its  pleasant 
and  easy  access  to  invite  the  wayworn  soldier  to  choose  it  in 
preference  to  the  dangerous  mountain-defiles.  Many  were  ac- 


21  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  4. — Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS. 
— Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. — Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  190. 


278 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


cordingly  of  opinion  that  the  army  should  take  this  course 
and  abandon  the  original  destination  to  Caxamalca.  But  such 
was  not  the  decision  of  Pizarro. 

The  Spaniards  had  everywhere  proclaimed  their  purpose,  he 
said,  to  visit  the  Inca  in  his  camp.  This  purpose  had  been 
communicated  to  the  Inca  himself.  To  take  an  opposite  di- 
rection now  would  only  be  to  draw  on  them  the  imputation  of 
cowardice,  and  to  incur  Atahuallpa’s  contempt.  No  alternative 
remained  but  to  march  straight  across  the  sierra  to  his  quarters. 
“Let  every  one  of  you,”  said  the  bold  cavalier,  “take  heart 
and  go  forward  like  a good  soldier,  nothing  daunted  by  the 
smallness  of  your  numbers.  For  in  the  greatest  extremity  God 
ever  fights  for  his  own ; and  doubt  not  he  will  humble  the 
pride  of  the  heathen,  and  bring  him  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
true  faith,  the  great  end  and  object  of  the  Conquest.”  22 

Pizarro,  like  Cortes,  possessed  a good  share  of  that  frank  and 
manly  eloquence  which  touches  the  heart  of  the  soldier  more 
than  the  parade  of  rhetoric  or  the  finest  flow  of  elocution.  He 
was  a soldier  himself,  and  partook  in  all  the  feelings  of  the  sol- 
dier, his  joys,  his  hopes,  and  his  disappointments.  He  was 
not  raised  by  rank  and  education  above  sympathy  with  the 
humblest  of  his  followers.  Every  chord  in  their  bosoms  vi- 
brated with  the  same  pulsations  as  his  own,  and  the  conviction 
of  this  gave  him  a mastery  over  them.  “ Lead  on,”  they 
shouted,  as  he  finished  his  brief  but  animating  address,  “ lead 
on  wherever  you  think  best.  We  will  follow  with  good  will, 
and  you  shall  see  that  we  can  do  our  duty  in  the  cause  of  God 
and  the  King  ! ” 23  There  was  no  longer  hesitation.  All 
thoughts  were  now  bent  on  the  instant  passage  of  the  Cordil- 
leras. 

23  “ Que  todos  se  animasen  y esforzasen  a hacer  como  de  ellos  esperaba  y como  buenos 
espanoles  lo  suelen  hacer,  e que  no  les  pusiese  temor  la  multitud  que  se  decia  que  habia  de 
gente  ni  el  poco  numero  de  los  cristianos,  que  aunque  menos  fuesen  e mayor  el  egercito  con 
trario,  la  ayuda  de  Dios  es  mucho  mayor,  y en  las  mayores  necesidades  socorre  y faborece 
a los  suyos  para  desbaratar  y abajar  le  soberbia  de  los  infieles  e traerlos  en  conocimiento  de 
nuestra  SteFe  catolica.”  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  4. 

23  “Todos  digeron  que  fuese  por  el  Camino  que  quisiese  i viese  que  mas  convenia,  que 
todos  le  seguirian  con  buena  voluntad  e obra  al  tiempo  del  efecto,  y veria  lo  que  cada  une 
de  ellos  haria  en  servicio  de  Dios  e de  su  Magestad.”  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS., 
loc.  sit. 


CHAP,  iv.]  SEVERE  PASSAGE  OF  THE  ANDES, 


279 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Severe  Passage  of  the  Andes. — Embassies  from  Atahuallpa. — The  Span- 
iards Reach  Caxamalca. — Embassy  to  the  Inca.— Interview  with  the 
Inca. — Despondency  of  the  Spaniards. 

That  night  Pizarro  held  a council  of  his  principal  officers, 
and  it  was  determined  that  he  should  lead  the  advance,  con- 
sisting of  forty  horse  and  sixty  foot,  and  reconnoitre  the 
ground  ; while  the  rest  of  the  company,  under  his  brother 
Hernando,  should  occupy  their  present  position  till  they  re- 
ceived further  orders. 

At  early  dawn  the  Spanish  general  and  his  detachment  were 
under  arms  and  prepared  to  breast  the  difficulties  of  the  sierra. 
These  proved  even  greater  than  had  been  foreseen.  The  path 
had  been  conducted  in  the  most  judicious  manner  round  the 
rugged  and  precipitous  sides  of  the  mountains,  so  as  best  to 
avoid  the  natural  impediments  presented  by  the  ground.  But 
it  was  necessarily  so  steep,  in  many  places,  that  the  cavalry  were 
obliged  to  dismount,  and,  scrambling  up  as  they  could,  to  lead 
their  horses  by  the  bridle.  In  many  places,  too,  where  some 
huge  crag  or  eminence  overhung  the  road,  this  was  driven  to 
the  very  verge  of  the  precipice  ; and  the  traveller  was  com- 
pelled to  wind  along  the  narrow  ledge  of  rock,  scarcely  wide 
enough  for  his  single  steed,  where  a misstep  would  precipitate 
him  hundreds,  nay,  thousands  of  feet  into  the  dreadful  abyss  ! 
The  wild  passes  of  the  sierra,  practicable  for  the  half-naked 
Indian,  and  even  for  the  sure  and  circumspect  mule — an  ani- 
mal that  seems  to  have  been  created  for  the  roads  of  the  Cor- 
dilleras— were  formidable  to  the  man-at-arms  encumbered  with 
his  panoply  of  mail.  The  tremendous  fissures  or  quebradas , so 
frightful  in  this  mountain-chain,  yawned  open,  as  if  the  Andes 
had  been  split  asunder  by  some  terrible  convulsion,  showing 
a broad  expanse  of  the  primitive  rock  on  their  sides,  partially 


280 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU . 


[BOOK  111. 


mantled  over  with  the  spontaneous  vegetation  of  ages ; while 
their  obscure  depths  furnished  a channel  for  the  torrents,  that, 
rising  in  the  heart  of  the  sierra,  worked  their  way  gradually 
into  light  and  spread  over  the  savannas  and  green  valleys  of 
the  tierra  caliente  on  their  way  to  the  great  ocean. 

Many  of  these  passes  afforded  obvious  points  of  defence; 
and  the  Spaniards,  as  they  entered  the  rocky  defiles,  looked 
with  apprehension  lest  they  might  rouse  some  foe  from  his  am- 
bush. This  apprehension  was  heightened  as,  at  the  summit  of 
a steep  and  narrow  gorge,  in  which  they  were  engaged,  they 
beheld  a strong  work,  rising  like  a fortress,  and  frowning,  as  it 
were,  in  gloomy  defiance  on  the  invaders.  As  they  drew  near 
this  building,  which  was  of  solid  stone,  commanding  an  angle 
of  the  road,  they  almost  expected  to  see  the  dusky  forms  of  the 
warriors  rise  over  the  battlements,  and  to  receive  their  tempest 
of  missiles  on  their  bucklers  ; for  it  was  in  so  strong  a position 
that  a few  resolute  men  might  easily  have  held  there  an  army 
at  bay.  But  they  had  the  satisfaction  to  find  the  place  unten- 
anted, and  their  spirits  were  greatly  raised  by  the  conviction 
that  the  Indian  monarch  did  not  intend  to  dispute  their  pas- 
sage, when  it  would  have  been  easy  to  do  so  with  success. 

Pizarro  now  sent  orders  to  his  brother  to  follow  without  de- 
lay, and,  after  refreshing  his  men,  continued  his  toilsome  as- 
cent, and  before  nightfall  reached  an  eminence  crowned  by 
another  fortress,  of  even  greater  strength  than  the  preceding. 
It  was  built  of  solid  masonry,  the  lower  part  excavated  from 
the  living  rock,  and  the  whole  work  executed  with  skill  not 
inferior  to  that  of  the  European  architect.1 

Here  Pizarro  took  up  his  quarters  for  the  night.  Without 
waiting  for  the  arrival  of  the  rear,  on  the  following  morning 
he  resumed  his  march,  leading  still  deeper  into  the  intricate 
gorges  of  the  sierra.  The  climate  had  gradually  changed,  and 
the  men  and  horses,  especially  the  latter,  suffered  severely  from 
the  cold,  so  long  accustomed  as  they  had  been  to  the  sultry 


1 “ Tan  ancha  la  Cerca  como  qualquier  Fortaleza  de  Espana,  con  sus  Puertas  : que  si  en 
esta  Tierra  oviese  los  Maestros,  i Herramientas  de  Espana,  no  pudiera  ser  mejor  labrada 
la  Cerca."  Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii„  p.  192. 


chap,  iv.]  SEVERE  PASSAGE  OF  THE  ANDES. 


281 


climate  of  the  tropics.2  The  vegetation  also  had  changed  its 
character ; and  the  magnificent  timber  which  covered  the 
lower  level  of  the  country  had  gradually  given  way  to  the 
funereal  forest  of  pine,  and,  as  they  rose  still  higher,  to  the 
stunted  growth  of  numberless  Alpine  plants,  whose  hardy  nat- 
ures found  a congenial  temperature  in  the  icy  atmosphere  of 
the  more  elevated  regions.  These  dreary  solitudes  seemed  to 
be  nearly  abandoned  by  the  brute  creation  as  well  as  by  man. 
The  light-footed  vicuna,  roaming  in  its  native  state,  might  be 
sometimes  seen  looking  down  from  some  airy  cliff,  where  the 
foot  of  the  hunter  dared  not  venture.  But  instead  of  the 
feathered  tribes  whose  gay  plumage  sparkled  in  the  deep 
glooms  of  the  tropical  forests,  the  adventurers  now  beheld  only 
the  great  bird  of  the  Andes,  the  loathsome  condor,  which,  sail- 
ing high  above  the  clouds,  followed  with  doleful  cries  in  the 
track  of  the  army,  as  if  guided  by  instinct  in  the  path  of  blood 
and  carnage. 

At  length  they  reached  the  crest  of  the  Cordillera,  where  it 
spreads  out  into  a bold  and  bleak  expanse,  with  scarcely  a ves- 
tige of  vegetation,  except  what  is  afforded  by  the  pajonal , a 
dried  yellow  grass,  which,  as  it  is  seen  from  below,  encircling 
the  base  of  the  snow-covered  peaks,  looks,  with  its  brilliant 
straw-cotor  lighted  up  in  the  rays  of  an  ardent  sun,  like  a set- 
ting of  gold  round  pinnacles  of  burnished  silver.  The  land 
was  sterile,  as  usual  in  mining-districts,  and  they  were  draw- 
ing near  the  once  famous  gold-quarries  on  the  way  to  Caxa- 
malca  : 

“ Rocks  rich  in  gems,  and  mountains  big  with  mines, 

That  on  the  high  equator  ridgy  rise.’’ 

Here  Pizarro  halted  for  the  coming  up  of  the  rear.  The  air 
was  sharp  and  frosty  ; and  the  soldiers,  spreading  their  tents, 
lighted  fires,  and,  huddling  round  them,  endeavored  to  find 
some  repose  after  their  laborious  march.3 

2 “ Es  tanto  el  frio  que  hace  en  esta  Sierra,  que  como  los  Caballos  venian  hechos  al  calor, 
que  en  los  Valles  hacia,  algunos  de  ellos  se  resfriaron.”  Ibid.,  p.  191. 

* aposentaronse  los  Espanoles  en  sus  toldos  6 pabellones  de  algodon  de  la  tierra  que 
ilevaban,  6 haciendo  fuegos  para  defenderse  del  mucho  frio  que  en  aquella  Sierra  hacen, 


282 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU 


[BOOK  IIL 


They  had  not  been  long  in  these  quarters  when  a messenger 
arrived,  one  of  those  who  had  accompanied  the  Indian  envoy 
sent  by  Pizarro  to  Atahuallpa.  He  informed  the  general  that 
the  road  was  free  from  enemies,  and  that  an  embassy  from  the 
Inca  was  on  its  way  to  the  Castilian  camp.  Pizarro  now  sent 
back  to  quicken  the  march  of  the  rear,  as  he  was  unwilling 
that  the  Peruvian  envoy  should  find  him  with  his  present  di- 
minished numbers.  The  rest  of  the  army  were  not  far  distant, 
and  not  long  after  reached  the  encampment. 

In  a short  time  the  Indian  embassy  also  arrived,  which  con- 
sisted of  one  of  the  Inca  nobles  and  several  attendants,  bring- 
ing a welcome  present  of  llamas  to  the  Spanish  commander. 
The  Peruvian  bore,  also,  the  greetings  of  his  master,  who 
wished  to  know  when  the  Spaniards  would  arrive  at  Caxamalca, 
that  he  might  provide  suitable  refreshments  for  them.  Pizarro 
learned  that  the  Inca  had  left  Huamachuco,  and  was  now  lying 
with  a small  force  in  the  neighborhood  of  Caxamalca,  at  a 
place  celebrated  for  its  natural  springs  of  warm  water.  The 
Peruvian  was  an  intelligent  person,  and  the  Spanish  commander 
gathered  from  him  many  particulars  respecting  the  late  con- 
tests which  had  distracted  the  empire. 

As  the  envoy  vaunted  in  lofty  terms  the  military  prowess 
and  resources  of  his  sovereign,  Pizarro  thought  it  politic  to 
show  that  it  had  no  power  to  overawe  him.  He  expressed  his 
satisfaction  at  the  triumphs  of  Atahuallpa,  who,  he  acknowl- 
edged, had  raised  himself  high  in  the  rank  of  Indian  warriors. 
But  he  was  as  inferior,  he  added  with  more  policy  than  polite- 
ness, to  the  monarch  who  ruled  over  the  white  men,  as  the 
petty  curacas  of  the  country  were  inferior  to  him.  This  was 
evident  from  the  ease  with  which  a few  Spaniards  had  overrun 
this  great  continent,  subduing  one  nation  after  another  that 
had  offered  resistance  to  their  arms.  He  had  been  led  by  the 
fame  of  Atahuallpa  to  visit  his  dominions  and  to  offer  him  his 
services  in  his  wars,  and,  if  he  were  received  by  the  Inca  in 

porque  sin  ellos  no  se  pudieron  valer  sin  padecer  mucho  trabajo  ; y segun  k los  cristianos 
les  parecio,  y aun  como  era  lo  cierto,  no  podia  haber  mas  frio  en  parte  de  Espana  en  in- 
rierno.”  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  4. 


chap,  iv.]  EMBASSIES  FROM  ATAHUALLPA.  283 

the  same  friendly  spirit  with  which  he  came,  he  was  willing, 
for  the  aid  he  could  render  him,  to  postpone  awhile  his  pas- 
sage across  the  country  to  the  opposite  seas.  The  Indian,  ac- 
cording to  the  Castilian  accounts,  listened  with  awe  to  this 
strain  of  glorification  from  the  Spanish  commander.  Yet  it  is 
possible  that  the  envoy  was  a better  diplomatist  than  they 
imagined,  and  that  he  understood  it  was  only  the  game  of 
brag  at  which  he  was  playing  with  his  more  civilized  antago- 
nist.4 

On  the  succeeding  morning,  at  an  early  hour,  the  troops 
were  again  on  their  march,  and  for  two  days  were  occupied  in 
threading  the  airy  defiles  of  the  Cordilleras.  Soon  after  be- 
ginning their  descent  on  the  eastern  side,  another  emissary  ar- 
rived from  the  Inca,  bearing  a message  of  similar  import  to  the 
preceding,  and  a present,  in  like  manner,  of  Peruvian  sheep. 
This  was  the  same  noble  that  had  visited  Pizarro  in  the  val- 
ley. He  now  came  in  more  state,  quaffing  chicha — the  fer- 
mented juice  of  the  maize — from  golden  goblets  borne  by  his 
attendants,  which  sparkled  in  the  eyes  of  the  rapacious  advent- 
urers.5 6 

While  he  was  in  the  camp,  the  Indian  messenger,  originally 
sent  by  Pizarro  to  the  Inca,  returned,  and  no  sooner  did  he 
behold  the  Peruvian,  and  the  honorable  reception  which  he 
met  with  from  the  Spaniards,  than  he  was  filled  with  wrath, 
which  would  have  vented  itself  in  personal  violence,  but  for 
the  interposition  of  the  by-standers.  It  was  hard,  he  said, 
that  this  Peruvian  dog  should  be  thus  courteously  treated, 
when  he  himself  had  nearly  lost  his  life  on  a similar  mission 
among  his  countrymen.  On  reaching  the  Inca’s  camp  he  had 
been  refused  admission  to  his  presence,  on  the  ground  that  he 
was  keeping  a fast  and  could  not  be  seen.  They  had  paid  no 

4 Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  193. — Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS., 

Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  5. 

6 “ Este  Embajador  traia  servicio  de  Sefior,  i cinco  6 seis  Vasos  de  Oro  fino,  con  que 
bebia,  i con  ellos  daba  d beber  a los  Espanoles  de  la  Chicha  que  trafa.”  Xerez,  Conq.  del 
Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  193. — Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  ubi  supra. — The  latter 
author,  in  this  part  of  his  work,  has  done  little  more  than  make  a transcript  of  that  of  Xerez. 
His  endorsement  of  Pizarro’s  secretary,  however,  is  of  value,  from  the  fact  that,  with  lass 
temptation  to  misstate  or  overstate,  he  enjoyed  excellent  opportunities  for  information. 


284  CONQUEST  OF  PERU.  [book  iii. 

respect  to  his  assertion  that  he  came  as  an  envoy  from  the 
white  men,  and  would,  probably,  not  have  suffered  him  to 
escape  with  life,  if  he  had  not  assured  them  that  any  violence 
offered  to  him  would  be  retaliated  in  full  measure  on  the  per- 
sons of  the  Peruvian  envoys  now  in  the  Spanish  quarters. 
There  was  no  doubt,  he  continued,  of  the  hostile  intentions  of 
Atahuallpa ; for  he  was  surrounded  with  a powerful  army, 
strongly  encamped  about  a league  from  Caxamalca,  while  that 
city  was  entirely  evacuated  by  its  inhabitants. 

To  all  this  the  Inca’s  envoy  coolly  replied  that  Pizarro’s 
messenger  might  have  reckoned  on  such  a reception  as  he  had 
found,  since  he  seemed  to  have  taken  with  him  no  credentials 
of  his  mission.  As  to  the  Inca’s  fast,  that  was  true ; and, 
although  he  would  doubtless  have  seen  the  messenger  had  he 
known  there  was  one  from  the  strangers,  yet  it  was  not  safe  to 
disturb  him  at  these  solemn  seasons,  when  engaged  in  his  re- 
ligious duties.  The  troops  by  whom  he  was  surrounded  were 
not  numerous,  considering  that  the  Inca  was  at  that  time 
carrying  on  an  important  war  ; and  as  to  Caxamalca,  it  was 
abandoned  by  the  inhabitants  in  order  to  make  room  for  the 
white  men,  who  were  so  soon  to  occupy  it.6 

This  explanation,  however  plausible,  did  not  altogether  sat- 
isfy the  general ; for  he  had  too  deep  a conviction  of  the  cun- 
ning of  Atahuallpa,  whose  intentions  toward  the  Spaniards  he 
had  long  greatly  distrusted.  As  he  proposed,  however,  to 
keep  on  friendly  relations  with  the  monarch  for  the  present,  it 
was  obviously  not  his  cue  to  manifest  suspicion.  Affecting, 
therefore,  to  give  full  credit  to  the  explanation  of  the  envoy, 
he  dismissed  him  with  reiterated  assurances  of  speedily  pre- 
senting himself  before  the  Inca. 

The  descent  of  the  sierra,  though  the  Andes  are  less  precip- 
itous on  their  eastern  side  than  toward  the  west,  was  attended 
with  difficulties  almost  equal  to  those  of  the  upward  march  ; 
and  the  Spaniards  felt  no  little  satisfaction  when,  on  the  sev- 
enth day,  they  arrived  in  view  of  the  valley  of  Caxamalca, 

# Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  194. — Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS., 
ubi  supra. 


CHAP.  IV.]  THE  SPANIARDS  REACH  CAXAMALCA.  285 

which,  enamelled  with  all  the  beauties  of  cultivation,  lay  un- 
rolled like  a rich  and  variegated  carpet  of  verdure,  in  strong 
contrast  with  the  dark  forms  of  the  Andes,  that  rose  up  every- 
where around  it.  The  valley  is  of  an  oval  shape,  extending 
about  five  leagues  in  length  by  three  in  breadth.  It  was  in- 
habited by  a population  of  a superior  character  to  any  which 
the  Spaniards  had  met  on  the  other  side  of  the  mountains,  as 
was  argued  by  the  superior  style  of  their  attire  and  the  greater 
cleanliness  and  comfort  visible  both  in  their  persons  and 
dwellings.7  As  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  the  level  tract  ex- 
hibited the  show  of  a diligent  and  thrifty  husbandry.  A 
broad  river  rolled  through  the  meadows,  supplying  facilities 
for  copious  irrigation  by  means  of  the  usual  canals  and  sub- 
terraneous aqueducts.  The  land,  intersected  by  verdant 
hedge-rows,  was  checkered  with  patches  of  various  cultivation  ; 
for  the  soil  was  rich,  and  the  climate,  if  less  stimulating  than 
that  of  the  sultry  regions7of  the  coast,  was  more  favorable  to 
the  hardy  products  of  the  temperate  latitudes.  Below  the  ad- 
venturers, with  its  white  houses  glittering  in  the  sun,  lay  the 
little  city  of  Caxamalca,  like  a sparkling  gem  on  the  dark 
skirts  of  the  sierra.  At  the  distance  of  about  a league  farther, 
across  the  valley,  might  be  seen  columns  of  vapor  rising  up 
toward  the  heavens,  indicating  the  place  of  the  famous  hot 
baths  much  frequented  by  the  Peruvian  princes.  And  here, 
too,  was  a spectacle  less  grateful  to  the  eyes  of  the  Spaniards  ; 
for  along  the  slope  of  the  hills  a white  cloud  of  pavilions  was 
seen  covering  the  ground,  as  thick  as  snow-flakes,  for  the 
space,  apparently,  of  several  miles.  “ It  filled  us  all  with 
amazement,”  exclaims  one  of  the  Conquerors,  “ to  behold  the 
Indians  occupying  so  proud  a position  ! So  many  tents,  so 
well  appointed,  as  were  never  seen  in  the  Indies  till  now  ! 
The  spectacle  caused  something  like  confusion  and  even  fear 
in  the  stoutest  bosom.  But  it  was  too  late  to  turn  back,  or  to 
betray  the  least  sign  of  weakness,  since  the  natives  in  our  own 
company  would,  in  such  case,  have  been  the  first  to  rise  upon 
us.  So,  with  as  bold  a countenance  as  we  could,  after  coolly 


7 Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  195. 


286 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


surveying  the  ground,  we  prepared  for  our  entrance  into  Caxa- 
malca.”  8 

What  were  the  feelings  of  the  Peruvian  monarch  we  are  not 
informed,  when  he  gazed  on  the  martial  cavalcade  of  the  Chris- 
tians, as,  with  banners  streaming,  and  bright  panoplies  glisten- 
ing in  the  rays  of  the  evening  sun,  it  emerged  from  the  dark 
depths  of  the  sierra  and  advanced  in  hostile  array  over  the  fair 
domain  which,  to  this  period,  had  never  been  trodden  by  other 
foot  than  that  of  the  red  man.  It  might  be,  as  several  of  the 
reports  had  stated,  that  the  Inca  had  purposely  decoyed  the  ad- 
venturers into  the  heart  of  his  populous  empire,  that  he  might 
envelop  them  with  his  legions  and  the  more  easily  become 
master  of  their  property  and  persons.9  Or  was  it  from  a natural 
feeling  of  curiosity,  and  relying  on  their  professions  of  friend- 
ship, that  he  had  thus  allowed  them,  without  any  attempt  at 
resistance,  to  come  into  his  presence  ? At  all  events,  he  could 
hardly  have  felt  such  confidence  in  himself  as  not  to  look  with 
apprehension,  mingled  with  awe,  on  the  mysterious  strangers 
who,  coming  from  an  unknown  world  and  possessed  of  such 
wonderful  gifts,  had  made  their  way  across  mountain  and  valley 
in  spite  of  every  obstacle  which  man  and  nature  had  opposed 
to  them. 

Pizarro,  meanwhile,  forming  his  little  corps  into  three  di- 
visions, now  moved  forward,  at  a more  measured  pace,  and  in 
order  of  battle,  down  the  slopes  that  led  toward  the  Indian  city. 

8 “ Y eran  tantas  las  tiendas  que  parecian,  que  cierto  nos  puso  harto  espanto,  porquc  no 
pensabamos  que  Indios  pudiesen  tener  tan  soberbia  estancia,  ni  tantas  tiendas,  ni  tan  4 
punto,  lo  cual  hasta  alii  en  las  Indias  nunca  se  vio,  que  nos  causo  4 todos  los  Espanoles 
harta  confusion  y temor  ; aunque  no  convenia  mostrarse,  ni  menos  volver  atras,  porque  si 
algung,  flaqueza  en  nosotros  sintieran,  los  mismos  Indios  que  llevabamos  nos  mataran,  y 
ansi  con  animoso  semblante,  despues  de  haber  muy  bien  atalayado  el  pueblo  y tiendas  que 
he  dicho,  abajaraos  por  el  valle  abajo,  y entramos  en  el  pueblo  de  Cajamalca.”  Relacion 
del  primer  Descub.,  MS. 

9 This  was  evidently  the  opinion  of  the  old  Conqueror,  whose  imperfect  manuscript  forms 
one  of  the  best  authorities  for  this  portion  of  our  narrative  : “ Teniendonos  en  muy  poco,  y 
no  haciendo  cuenta  que  190  hombres  le  habian  de  ofender,  dio  lugar  y consintio  que  pasase- 
mos  por  aquel  paso  y por  otros  muchos  tan  malos  como  el,  porque  realmente,  a lo  que  des- 
pues se  supo  y averiguo,  su  intencion  era  vernos  y preguntarnos,  de  donde  veniamos  ? y 
quien  nos  habia  hechado  alii?  y que  queriamos?  Porque  era  muy  sabio y discreto,  y 
aunque  sin  luz  tii  escriptura,  amigo  de  saber  y de  sotil  entendimiento  ; y despues  de 
holgadose  con  nosotros,  tomarnos  los  caballos  y las  cosas  que  4 el  mas  le  apiarian,  y sacri* 
hear  4 los  demas.”  Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. 


chap,  iv.]  THE  SPANIARDS  REACH  CAJCAMALCA.  287 


As  he  drew  near,  no  one  came  out  to  welcome  him ; and  he 
rode  through  the  streets  without  meeting  with  a living  thing,  or 
hearing  a sound,  except  the  echoes,  sent  back  from  the  deserted 
dwellings,  of  the  tramp  of  the  soldiery. 

It  was  a place  of  considerable  size,  containing  about  ten 
thousand  inhabitants,  somewhat  more,  probably,  than  the  popu- 
lation assembled  at  this  day  within  the  walls  of  the  modern  city 
of  Caxamalca.10  The  houses,  for  the  most  part,  were  built  of 
clay  hardened  in  the  sun ; the  roofs  thatched  or  of  timber. 
Some  of  the  more  ambitious  dwellings  were  of  hewn  stone ; and 
there  was  a convent  in  the  place,  occupied  by  the  Virgins  of 
the  Sun,  and  a temple  dedicated  to  the  same  tutelar  deity, 
which  last  was  hidden  in  the  deep  embowering  shades  of  a 
grove  on  the  skirts  of  the  city.  On  the  quarter  toward  the 
Indian  camp  was  a square — if  square  it  might  be  called,  which 
was  almost  triangular  in  form — of  an  immense  size,  surrounded 
by  low  buildings.  These  consisted  of  capacious  halls,  with 
wide  doors  or  openings  communicating  with  the  square.  They 
were  probably  intended  as  a sort  of  barracks  for  the  Inca’s 
soldiers.11  At  the  end  of  the  plaza , looking  toward  the  coun- 
try, was  a fortress  of  stone,  with  a stairway  leading  from  the 
city,  and  a private  entrance  from  the  adjoining  suburbs.  There 
was  still  another  fortress  on  the  rising  ground  which  commanded 
the  town,  built  of  hewn  stone  and  encompassed  by  three  circu- 
lar walls — or  rather  one  and  the  same  wall,  which  wound  up 
spirally  around  it.  It  was  a place  of  great  strength,  and  the 
workmanship  showed  a better  knowledge  of  masonry,  and  gave 
a higher  impression  of  the  architectural  science  of  the  people, 
than  anything  the  Spaniards  had  yet  seen.12 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  of  November  15,  1532,  when  the 

10  According  to  Stevenson,  this  population,  which  is  of  a very  mixed  character,  amounts, 
or  did  amount  some  thirty  years  ago,  to  about  seven  thousand.  That  sagacious  traveller 
gives  an  animated  description  of  the  city,  in  which  he  resided  some  time,  and  which  he 
seems  to  nave  regarded  with  peculiar  predilection.  Yet  it  does  not  hold  probably  the  rela- 
tive rank  at  the  present  day  that  it  did  in  that  of  the  Incas.  Residence  in  South  America, 
vol.  iL,  p.  131. 

11  Carta  de  Hem.  Pizarro,  ap.  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  15. 
— Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  195. 

13  “Fuer?as  son,  que  entre  Indios  no  se  han  visto  tales.”  Xerez,  Coaq.  del  Peru,  ap. 
Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  195.— Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. 


288 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III* 


Conquerors  entered  the  city  of  Caxamalca.  The  weather, 
which  had  been  fair  during  the  day,  now  threatened  a storm, 
and  some  rain  mingled  with  hail — for  it  was  unusually  cold — 
began  to  fall.13  Pizarro,  however,  was  so  anxious  to  ascertain 
the  dispositions  of  the  Inca  that  he  determined  to  send  an  em- 
bassy at  once  to  his  quarters.  He  selected  for  this  Hernando 
de  Soto  with  fifteen  horse,  and,  after  his  departure,  conceiving 
that  the  number  was  too  small  in  case  of  any  unfriendly  demon- 
strations by  the  Indians,  he  ordered  his  brother  Hernando  to 
follow  with  twenty  additional  troopers.  This  captain  and  one 
other  of  his  party  have  left  us  an  account  of  the  excursion.14 

Between  the  city  and  the  imperial  camp  was  a causeway, 
built  in  a substantial  manner  across  the  meadow-land  that  in- 
tervened. Over  this  the  cavalry  galloped  at  a rapid  pace,  and 
before  they  had  gone  a league  they  came  in  front  of  the  Peru- 
vian encampment,  where  it  spread  along  the  gentle  slope  of  the 
mountains.  The  lances  of  the  warriors  were  fixed  in  the  ground 
before  -their  tents,  and  the  Indian  soldiers  were  loitering  with- 
out, gazing  with  silent  astonishment  at  the  Christian  cavalcade, 
as  with  clangor  of  arms  and  shrill  blast  of  trumpet  it  swept 
by,  like  some  fearful  apparition  on  the  wings  of  the  wind. 

The  party  soon  came  to  a broad  but  shallow  stream,  which, 
winding  through  the  meadow,  formed  a defence  for  the  Inca’s 
position.  Across  it  was  a wooden  bridge  ; but  the  cavaliers, 
distrusting  its  strength,  preferred  to  dash  through  the  waters, 
and  without  difficulty  gained  the  opposite  bank.  A battalion 
of  Indian  warriors  was  drawn  up  under  arms  on  the  farther  side 
of  the  bridge,  but  they  offered  no  molestation  to  the  Spaniards  ; 

“Desde  a poco  rato  comen 90  a Hover,  i caer  granifo.”  (Xerez,  Conq.  del.  Peru,  ap. 
Barcia,  tom.  iii. , p.  195.)  Caxamalca,  in  the  Indian  tongue,  signifies  “ place  of  frost ; ” for 
the  temperature,  though  usually  bland  and  genial,  is  sometimes  affected  by  frosty  winds 
from  the  east,  very  pernicious  to  vegetation.  Stevenson,  Residence  in  South  America,  vol. 
ii.,  p.  129. 

14  Carta  de  Hern.  Pizarro,  MS.  The  Letter  of  Hernando  Pizarro,  addressed  to  the 
Royal  Audience  of  St.  Domingo,  gives  a full  account  of  the  extraordinary  events  recorded 
in  this  and  the  ensuing  chapter,  in  which  that  cavalier  took  a prominent  part.  Allowing  for 
the  partialities  incident  to  a chief  actor  in  the  scenes  he  describes,  no  authority  can  rank 
higher.  The  indefatigable  Oviedo,  who  resided  in  St.  Domingo,  saw  its  importance,  and 
fortunately  incorporated  the  document  in  his  great  work,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte 
3,  lib.  8,  cap.  15. — The  anonymous  author  of  the  Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS.,  was 
also  detached  on  this  service. 


CHAP.  IV.] 


EMBASSY  TO  THE  INCA . 


289 


and  these  latter  had  strict  orders  from  Pizarro — scarcely  neces- 
sary in  their  present  circumstances — to  treat  the  natives  with 
courtesy.  One  of  the  Indians  pointed  out  the  quarter  occupied 
by  the  Inca.15 

It  was  an  open  court-yard,  with  a light  building  or  pleasure- 
house  in  the  centre,  having  galleries  running  round  it,  and 
opening  in  the  rear  on  a garden.  The  walls  were  covered  with 
a shining  plaster,  both  white  and  colored,  and  in  the  area 
before  the  edifice  was  seen  a spacious  tank  or  reservoir  of  stone, 
fed  by  aqueducts  that  supplied  it  with  both  warm  and  cold 
water.16  A basin  of  hewn  stone — it  may  be  of  a more  recent 
construction — still  bears,  on  the  spot,  the  name  of  the  “ Inca’s 
bath.”  17  The  court  was  filled  with  Indian  nobles,  dressed  in 
gayly  ornamented  attire,  in  attendance  on  the  monarch,  and 
with  women  of  the  royal  household.  Amidst  this  assembly  it 
was  not  difficult  to  distinguish  the  person  of  Atahuallpa,  though 
his  dress  was  simpler  than  that  of  his  attendants.  But  he  wore 
on  his  head  the  crimson  borla  or  fringe,  which,  surrounding 
the  forehead,  hung  down  as  low  as  the  eyebrow.  This  was  the 
well-known  badge  of  Peruvian  sovereignty,  and  had  been 
assumed  by  the  monarch  only  since  the  defeat  of  his  brother 
Huascar.  He  was  seated  on  a low  stool  or  cushion,  somewhat 
after  the  Morisco  or  Turkish  fashion,  and  his  nobles  and  prin- 
cipal officers  stood  around  him  with  great  ceremony,  holding 
the  stations  suited  to  their  rank.18 

The  Spaniards  gazed  with  much  interest  on  the  prince,  of 

16  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Carta  de  Hern.  Pizarro,  MS. 

16  Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  202. — “ Y al  estanque  venian  dos  cafios 
de  agua,  uno  caliente  y otro  frio,  y alii  se  templava  la  una  con  la  otra,  para  quando  el 
Senor  se  queria  banar  6 sus  mugeres  que  otra  persona  no  osava  entrar  en  el  so  pena  de  la 
vida.”  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 

17  Stevenson,  Residence  in  South  America,  vol.  ii.,  p.  164. 

18  Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  196. — Carta  de  Hern.  Pizarro,  MS. — 
The  appearance  of  the  Peruvian  monarch  is  described  in  simple  but  animated  style  by  the 
Conqueror  so  often  quoted,  one  of  the  party  : “ Llegados  al  patio  de  la  dicha  casa  que  tenia 
delante  della,  vimos  estar  en  medio  de  gran  muchedumbre  de  Indios  asentado  aquel  gran 
Senor  Atabalica  (de  quien  tanta  noticia,  y tantas  cosas  nos  habian  dicho)  con  una  corona 
en  la  cabeza,  y una  borla  que  le  salia  della,  y le  cubria  toda  la  frente,  la  cual  era  la  insinia 
real,  sentado  en  una  sillecita  muy  baja  del  suelo,  como  los  turcos  y moros  acostumbran 
sentarse,  el  cual  estaba  con  tanta  magestad  y aparato  cual  nunca  se  ha  visto  jamas,  porque 
estaba  cercado  de  mas  de  seiscientos  Senores  de  su  tierra.”  Relacion  del  Primer 
Descub.,  MS. 


290 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[book  in. 


whose  cruelty  and  cunning  they  had  heard  so  much,  and  whose 
valor  had  secured  to  him  the  possession  of  the  empire.  But  his 
countenance  exhibited  neither  the  fierce  passions  nor  the  sagac- 
ity  which  had  been  ascribed  to  him  ; and,  though  in  his  bearing 
he  showed  a gravity  and  a calm  consciousness  of  authority  well 
becoming  a king,  he  seemed  to  discharge  all  expression  from 
his  features,  and  to  discover  only  the  apathy  so  characteristic 
of  the  American  races.  On  the  present  occasion  this  must  have 
been  in  part,  at  least,  assumed.  For  it  is  impossible  that  the 
Indian  prince  should  not  have  contemplated  with  curious  in- 
terest a spectacle  so  strange,  and,  in  some  respects,  appalling, 
as  that  of  these  mysterious  strangers,  for  which  no  previous 
description  could  have  prepared  him. 

Hernando  Pizarro  and  Soto,  with  two  or  three  only  of  their 
followers,  slowly  rode  up  in  front  of  the  Inca ; and  the  former, 
making  a respectful  obeisance,  but  without  dismounting,  in- 
formed Atahuallpa  that  he  came  as  an  ambassador  from  his 
brother,  the  commander  of  the  white  men,  to  acquaint  the 
monarch  with  their  arrival  in  the  city  of  Caxamalca.  They 
were  the  subjects  of  a mighty  prince  across  the  waters,  and 
had  come,  he  said,  drawn  thither  by  the  report  of  his  great 
victories,  to  offer  their  services,  and  to  impart  to  him  the 
doctrines  of  the  true  faith  which  they  professed ; and  he 
brought  an  invitation  from  the  general  to  Atahuallpa  that  the 
latter  would  be  pleased  to  visit  the  Spaniards  in  their  present 
quarters. 

To  all  this  the  Inca  answered  not  a word ; nor  did  he  make 
even  a sign  of  acknowledgment  that  he  comprehended  it  $ 
though  it  was  translated  for  him  by  Felipillo,  one  of  the  inter- 
preters already  noticed.  He  remained  silent,  with  his  eyes 
fastened  on  the  ground  ; but  one  of  his  nobles,  standing  by 
his  side,  answered,  “It  is  well.”19  This  was  an  embar- 
rassing situation  for  the  Spaniards,  who  seemed  to  be  as  far 

19  “Las  cuales  por  el  oidas,  con  ser  su  inclinacion  preguntarnos  y saber  de  donde  venia- 
mos,  y que  queriamos,  y ver  nuestras  personas  y caballos,  tubo  tanta  serenidad  en  el  ros- 
tra, y tanta  gravedad  en  su  persona,  que  no  quiso  responder  palabra  A lo  que  se  le  decia, 
salvo  que  un  Senor  de  aquellos  que  estaban  par  de  el  respondia  : bien  esta.”  Relaoioo 
d*l  primer  Descub.,  MS. 


CHAP.  IV. J 


INTERVIEW  WITH  THE  INCA. 


291 


from  ascertaining  the  real  disposition  of  the  Peruvian  mon- 
arch toward  themselves  as  when  the  mountains  were  between 
them. 

In  a courteous  and  respectful  manner,  Hernando  Pizarro 
again  broke  the  silence  by  requesting  the  Inca  to  speak  to  them 
himself  and  to  inform  them  what  was  his  pleasure.20  To  this 
Atahuallpa  condescended  to  reply,  while  a faint  smile  passed  over 
his  features,  “ Tell  your  captain  that  I am  keeping  a fast,  which 
will  end  to-morrow  morning.  I will  then  visit  him,  with  my 
chieftains.  In  the  meantime,  let  him  occupy  the  public  build- 
ings on  the  square,  and  no  other,  till  I come,  when  I will  order 
what  shall  be  done.  ’ ’ 21 

Soto,  one  of  the  party  present  at  this  interview,  as  before 
noticed,  was  the  best  mounted  and  perhaps  the  best  rider  in 
Pizarro’s  troop.  Observing  that  Atahuallpa  looked  with  some 
interest  on  the  fiery  steed  that  stood  before  him,  champing  the 
bit  and  pawing  the  ground  with  the  natural  impatience  of  a 
war-horse,  the  Spaniard  gave  him  the  rein,  and,  striking  his 
iron  heel  into  his  side,  dashed  furiously  over  the  plain,  then, 
wheeling  him  round  and  round,  displayed  all  the  beautiful 
movements  of  his  charger,  and  his  own  excellent  horsemanship. 
Suddenly  checking  him  in  full  career,  he  brought  the  animal 
almost  on  his  haunches,  so  near  the  person  of  the  Inca  that 
some  of  the  foam  that  flecked  his  horse’s  sides  was  thrown  on 
the  royal  garments.  But  Atahuallpa  maintained  the  same  mar- 
ble composure  as  before,  though  several  of  his  soldiers,  whom 
De  Soto  passed  in  the  course,  were  so  much  disconcerted  by  it 
that  they  drew  back  in  manifest  terror — an  act  of  timidity  for 
which  they  paid  dearly,  if  \ as  the  Spaniards  assert,  Atahuallpa 

a°  “Visto  por  el  dicho  Hernando  Pizarro  que  el  no  hablaba,  y que  aquella  tercera  per- 
sona respondia  de  suyo,  torno  le  a suplicar,  que  el  hablase  por  su  boca,  y le  respondiese  lo 
que  quisiese.”  Ibid.,  MS.,  ubi  supra. 

21  “ El  cual  a esto  volvio  la  cabeza  a mirarle  sonriendose  y le  dijo  : Decid  4 ese  Capitan 
que  os  embia  aca  ; que  yo  estoy  en  ayuno,  y le  acabo  manana  por  la  manana,  que  en  be- 
biendo  una  vez,  y ire  con  algunos  destos  principales  mios  a verme  con  el,  que-en  tanto  el  se 
aposenre  en  esas  casas  que  estan  en  la  plaza  que  son  comunes  4 todos,  y que  no  entren  en 
otra  ninguna  hasta  que  Yo  vaya,  que  Yo  mandare  lo  que  se  ha  de  hacer.”  Relacion  del 
primer  Descub.,  MS.,  ubi  supra. — In  this  singular  interview  I have  followed  the  account  of 
the  cavalier  who  accompanied  Hernando  Pizarro,  in  preference  to  that  of  the  latter,  who 
represents  himself  as  talking  in  a lordly  key,  that  savors  too  much  of  the  vaunt  of  the  hi- 
dalgo. 


Peru  13 


Yol.  1 


292 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


caused  them  to  be  put  to  death  that  same  evening  for  betraying 
such  unworthy  weakness  to  the  strangers.22 

Refreshments  were  now  offered  by  the  royal  attendants  to  the 
Spaniards,  which  they  declined,  being  unwilling  to  dismount. 
They  did  not  refuse,  however,  to  quaff  the  sparkling  chicha 
from  golden  vases  of  extraordinary  size,  presented  to  them  by 
the  dark-eyed  beauties  of  the  harem.23  Taking  then  a respect- 
ful leave  of  the  Inca,  the  cavaliers  rode  back  to  Caxamalca, 
with  many  moody  speculations  on  what  they  had  seen : on  the 
state  and  opulence  of  the  Indian  monarch  ; on  the  strength  of 
his  military  array,  their  excellent  appointments,  and  the  appa- 
rent discipline  in  their  ranks — all  arguing  a much  higher  de- 
gree of  civilization,  and  consequently  of  power,  than  anything 
they  had  witnessed  in  the  lower  regions  of  the  country.  As 
they  contrasted  all  this  with  their  own  diminutive  force,  too  far 
advanced,  as  they  now  were,  for  succor  to  reach  them,  they  felt 
they  had  done  rashly  in  throwing  themselves  into  the  midst  of 
so  formidable  an  empire,  and  were  filled  with  gloomy  forebod- 
ings of  the  result.24  Their  comrades  in  camp  soon  caught  the  in- 
fectious spirit  of  despondency,  which  was  not  lessened  as  night 
came  on,  and  they  beheld  the  watchfires  of  the  Peruvians  light- 
ing up  the  sides  of  the  mountains  and  glittering  in  the  darkness, 
* 4 as  thick,”  says  one  who  saw  them,  “ as  the  stars  of  heaven.”  25 


32 Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. — “I  algu- 
nos  Indios,  con  miedo,  se  desviaron  de  la  Carrera,  por  lo  qual  Atabalipa  Ios  higo  luego 
matar.”  (Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  lib.  2,  cap.  4.)— Xerez  states  that  Atahuallpa  confessed 
this  himself,  in  conversation  with  the  Spaniards  after  he  was  taken  prisoner. — Soto’s 
charger  might  well  have  made  the  Indians  start,  if,  as  Balboa  says,  he  took  twenty  feet  at 
a leap,  and  this  with  a knight  in  armor  on  his  back  ! Hist,  du  Perou,  chap.  22. 

23  Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. — Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p. 
196. 

24  “ Hecho  esto  y visto  y atalayado  la  grandeza  del  ejercito,  y las  tiendas  que  era 
bien  de  ver,  nos  bolvimos  A donde  el  dicho  capitan  nos  estaba  esperando,  harto  espantados 
de  lo  que  habiamos  visto,  habiendo  y tomando  entre  nosotros  muchos  acuerdos  y opin- 
iones  de  lo  que  se  debia  hacer,  estando  todos  con  mucho  temor  por  ser  tan  pocos,  y estar 
tan  metidos  en  Ja  tierra  donde  no  podiamos  ser  socorridos.”  (Relacion  del  primer  Descub., 
MS.)  Pedro  Pizarro  is  honest  enough  to  confirm  this  account  of  the  consternation  of  the 
Spaniards.  (Descub.  y Conq.,  MS.)  Fear  was  a strange  sensation  for  the  Castilian  cav- 
alier. But  if  he  did  not  feel  some  touch  of  it  on  that  occasion,  he  must  have  been  akin  to 
that  doughty  knight  who,  as  Charles  V.  pronounced,  “ never  could  have  snuffed  a candle 
with  his  fingers.” 

26  “ Hecimos  la  guardia  en  la  plaza,  de  donde  se  vian  los  fuegos  del  ejercito  de  los  In- 
dios, lo  cual  era  cosa  espantable,  que  como  estaban  en  una  ladera  la  mayor  parte,  y taa 


chap,  iv.]  DESPONDENCY  OF  THE  SPANIARDS.  293 


Yet  there  was  one  bosom  in  that*  little  host  which  was  not 
touched  with  the  feeling  either  of  fear  or  dejection.  That  was 
Pizarro’s,  who  secretly  rejoiced  that  he  had  now  brought  mat- 
ters to  the  issue  for  which  he  had  so  long  panted.  He  saw  the 
necessity  of  kindling  a similar  feeling  in  his  followers,  or  all 
would  be  lost.  Without  unfolding  his  plans,  he  went  round 
among  his  men,  beseeching  them  not  to  show  faint  hearts  at 
this  crisis,  when  they  stood  face  to  face  with  the  foe  whom 
they  had  been  so  long  seeking.  “They  were  to  rely  on 
themselves,  and  on  that  Providence  which  had  carried  them  safe 
through  so  many  fearful  trials.  It  would  not  now  desert  them  ; 
and  if  numbers,  however  great,  were  on  the  side  of  their  enemy, 
it  mattered  little,  when  the  arm  of  Heaven  was  on  theirs.  ’ ’ 26 
The  Spanish  cavalier  acted  under  the  combined  influence  of 
chivalrous  adventure  and  religious  zeal.  The  latter  was  the 
more  effective  in  the  hour  of  peril ; and  Pizarro,  who  under- 
stood well  the  characters  he  had  to  deal  with,  by  presenting 
the  enterprise  as  a crusade,  kindled  the  dying  embers  of  enthu- 
siasm in  the  bosoms  of  his  followers,  and  restored  their  falter- 
ing courage. 

He  then  summoned  a council  of  his  officers,  to  consider  the 
plan  of  operations,  or  rather  to  propose  to  them  the  extraor- 
dinary plan  on  which  he  had  himself  decided.  This  was  to  lay 
an  ambuscade  for  the  Inca  and  take  him  prisoner  in  the  face 
of  his  whole  army  ! It  was  a project  full  of  peril — bordering, 
as  it  might  well  seem,  on  desperation.  But  the  circumstances 
of  the  Spaniards  were  desperate.  Whichever  way  they  turned, 
they  were  menaced  by  the  most  appalling  dangers ; and  better 
was  it  bravely  to  confront  the  danger  than  weakly  to  shrink 
from  it,  when  there  was  no  avenue  for  escape. 

To  fly  was  now  too  late.  Whither  could  they  fly?  At  the 
first  signal  of  retreat,  the  whole  army  of  the  Inca  would  be  upon 
them.  Their  movements  would  be  anticipated  by  a foe  far 
better  acquainted  with  the  intricacies  of  the  sierra  than  them- 

juntos  unos  de  otros,  no  parecia  sino  un  cielo  muy  estrellado.”  Relacion  del  primer  De- 
scub.,  MS. 

2«Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap  Barcia,  tom.  iii,  p.  197.— Naharro,  Relacion  sumaria, 

MS. 


294  CONQUEST  OF  PERU.  [book  iii. 

selves ; the  passes  would  be  occupied,  and  they  would  be 
hemmed  in  on  all  sides ; while  the  mere  fact  of  this  retrograde 
movement  would  diminish  their  confidence  and  with  it  their 
effective  strength,  while  it  doubled  that  of  their  enemy. 

Yet  to  remain  long  inactive  in  their  present  position  seemed 
almost  equally  perilous.  Even  supposing  that  Atahuallpa 
should  entertain  friendly  feelings  toward  the  Christians,  they 
could  not  confide  in  the  continuance  of  such  feelings.  Famil- 
iarity with  the  white  men  would  soon  destroy  the  idea  of  any- 
thing supernatural,  or  even  superior,  in  their  natures.  He 
would  feel  contempt  for  their  diminutive  numbers.  Their 
horses,  their  arms  and  showy  appointments,  would  be  an  at- 
tractive bait  in  the  eye  of  the  barbaric  monarch,  and  when 
conscious  that  he  had  the  power  to  crush  their  possessors  he 
would  not  be  slow  in  finding  a pretext  for  it.  A sufficient  one 
had  already  occurred  in  the  high-handed  measures  of  the  Con- 
querors on  their  march  through  his  dominions. 

But  what  reason  had  they  to  flatter  themselves  that  the  Inca 
cherished  such  a disposition  toward  them  ? He  was  a crafty 
and  unscrupulous  prince,  and,  if  the  accounts  they  had  re- 
peatedly received  on  their  march  were  true,  had  ever  regarded 
the  coming  of  the  Spaniards  with  an  evil  eye.  It  was  scarcely 
possible  he  should  do  otherwise.  His  soft  messages  had  only 
been  intended  to  decoy  them  across  the  mountains,  where,  with 
the  aid  of  his  warriors,  he  might  readily  overpower  them. 
They  were  entangled  in  the  toils  which  the  cunning  monarch 
had  spread  for  them. 

Their  only  remedy,  then,  was  to  turn  the  Inca’s  arts  against 
himself ; to  take  him,  if  possible,  in  his  own  snare.  There  was 
no  time  to  be  lost ; for  any  day  might  bring  back  the  victori- 
ous legions  who  had  recently  won  his  battles  at  the  south,  and 
thus  make  the  odds  against  the  Spaniards  far  greater  than  now. 

Yet  to  encounter  Atahuallpa  in  the  open  field  would  be  at- 
tended with  great  hazard  ; and,  even  if  victorious,  there  would 
be  little  probability  that  the  person  of  the  Inca,  of  so  much 
importance,  would  fall  into  their  hands.  The  invitation  he 
had  so  unsuspiciously  accepted  to  visit  them  in  their  quarters 


ohap.  iv.]  DESPONDENCY  OF  THE  SPANIARDS.  295 


afforded  the  best  means  for  securing  this  desirable  prize.  Nor 
was  the  enterprise  so  desperate,  considering  the  great  advan- 
tages afforded  by  the  character  and  weapons  of  the  invaders 
and  the  unexpectedness  of  the  assault.  The  mere  circumstance 
of  acting  on  a concerted  plan  would  alone  make  a small  num- 
ber more  than  a match  for  a much  larger  one.  But  it  was  not 
necessary  to  admit  the  whole  of  the  Indian  force  into  the  city 
before  the  attack ; and  the  person  of  the  Inca  once  secured, 
his  followers,  astounded  by  so  strange  an  event,  were  they  few 
or  many,  would  have  no  heart  for  further  resistance  ; and  with 
the  Inca  once  in  his  power,  Pizarro  might  dictate  laws  to  the 
empire. 

In  this  daring  project  of  the  Spanish  chief  it  was  easy  to  see 
that  he  had  the  brilliant  exploit  of  Cortes  in  his  mind  when  he 
carried  off  the  Aztec  monarch  in  his  capital.  But  that  was  not 
by  violence — at  least,  not  by  open  violence — and  it  received 
the  sanction,  compulsory  though  it  were,  of  the  monarch  him- 
self. It  was  also  true  that  the  results  in  that  case  did  not  alto- 
gether justify  a repetition  of  the  experiment,  since  the  people 
rose  in  a body  to  sacrifice  both  the  prince  and  his  kidnappers. 
Yet  this  was  owing,  in  part  at  least,  to  the  indiscretion  of  the 
latter.  The  experiment  in  the  outset  was  perfectly  successful ; 
and  could  Pizarro  once  become  master  of  the  person  of  Atahu- 
allpa  he  trusted  to  his  own  discretion  for  the  rest.  It  would 
at  least  extricate  him  from  his  present  critical  position,  by 
placing  in  his  power  an  inestimable  guarantee  for  his  safety  ; 
and  if  he  could  not  make  his  own  terms  with  the  Inca  at  once, 
the  arrival  of  reinforcements  from  home  would,  in  all  probabil- 
ity, soon  enable  him  to  do  so. 

Pizarro  having  concerted  his  plans  for  the  following  day,  the 
council  broke  up,  and  the  chief  occupied  himself  with  provid- 
ing for  the  security  of  the  camp  during  the  night.  The  ap- 
proaches to  the  town  were  defended ; sentinels  were  posted  at 
different  points,  especially  on  the  summit  of  the  fortress,  where 
they  were  to  observe  the  position  of  the  enemy  and  to  report 
any  movement  that  menaced  the  tranquillity  of  the  night. 
After  these  precautions,  the  Spanish  commander  and  his  follow' 


296 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


ers  withdrew  to  their  appointed  quarters — but  not  to  sleep.  At 
least,  sleep  must  have  come  late  to  those  who  were  aware  of 
the  decisive  plan  for  the  morrow ; that  morrow  which  was  to 
be  the  crisis  of  their  fate — to  crown  their  ambitious  schemes 
with  full  success,  or  consign  them  to  irretrievable  ruin  ! 


CHAPTER  V. 

Desperate  Plan  of  Pizarro. — Atahuallpa  Visits  the  Spaniards. — Horrible 
Massacre. — The  Inca  a Prisoner. — Conduct  of  the  Conquerors.— 
Splendid  Promises  of  the  Inca. — Death  of  Huascar. 

• 

I532* 

The  clouds  of  the  evening  had  passed  away,  and  the  sun 
rose  bright  on  the  following  morning,  the  most  memorable 
epoch  in  the  annals  of  Peru.  It  was  Saturday,  the  sixteenth  of 
November,  1532.  The  loud  cry  of  the  trumpet  called  the 
Spaniards  to  arms  with  the  first  streak  of  dawn  ; and  Pizarro, 
briefly  acquainting  them  with  the  plan  of  the  assault,  made  the 
necessary  dispositions. 

The  plaza , as  mentioned  in  the  preceding  chapter,  was  de- 
fended on  its  three  sides  by  low  ranges  of  buildings,  consisting 
of  spacious  halls  with  wide  doors  or  vomitories  opening  into 
the  square.  In  these  halls  he  stationed  his  cavalry  in  two  di- 
visions, one  under  his  brother  Hernando,  the  other  under  De 
Soto.  The  infantry  he  placed  in  another  of  the  buildings,  re- 
serving twenty  chosen  men  to  act  with  himself  as  occasion 
might  require.  Pedro  de  Candia,  with  a few  soldiers  and  the 
artillery — comprehending  under  this  imposing  name  two  small 
pieces  of  ordnance,  called  falconets  — he  established  in  the 
fortress.  All  received  orders  to  wait  at  their  posts  till  the  ar- 
rival of  the  Inca.  After  his  entrance  into  the  great  square,  they 
were  still  to  remain  under  cover,  withdrawn  from  observation, 
till  the  signal  was  given  by  the  discharge  of  a gun,  when  they 
were  to  cry  their  war-cries,  to  rush  out  in  a body  from  their 


CHAP.  V.] 


DESPERATE  PLAN  OF  PIZARRO. 


297 


covert,  and,  putting  the  Peruvians  to  the  sword,  bear  off  the 
person  of  the  Inca.  The  arrangement  of  the  immense  halls, 
opening  on  a level  with  the  plaza , seemed  to  be  contrived  on 
purpose  for  a coup  de  theatre.  Pizarro  particularly  inculcated 
order  and  implicit  obedience,  that  in  the  hurry  of  the  moment 
there  should  be  no  confusion.  Everything  depended  on  their 
acting  with  concert,  coolness,  and  celerity.1 

The  chief  next  saw  that  their  arms  were  in  good  order,  and 
that  the  breastplates  of  their  horses  were  garnished  with  bells, 
to  add  by  their  noise  to  the  consternation  of  the  Indians. 
Refreshments  were,  also,  liberally  provided,  that  the  troops 
should  be  in  condition  for  the  conflict.  These  arrangements 
being  completed,  mass  was  performed  with  great  solemnity  by 
the  ecclesiastics  who  attended  the  expedition  ; the  God  of  bat- 
tles was  invoked  to  spread  his  shield  over  the  soldiers  who  were 
fighting  to  extend  the  empire  of  the  Cross  ; and  all  joined  with 
enthusiasm  in  the  chant,  “ Exsurge , Domine “ Rise,  O 
Lord  ! and  judge  thine  own  cause.  ’ ’ 2 One  might  have  sup- 
posed them  a company  of  martyrs  about  to  lay  down  their 
lives  in  defence  of  their  faith,  instead  of  a licentious  band  of 
adventurers  meditating  one  of  the  most  atrocious  acts  of  per- 
fidy on  the  record  of  history  ! Yet,  whatever  were  the  vices 
of  the  Castilian  cavalier,  hypocrisy  was  not  among  the  num- 
ber. He  felt  that  he  was  battling  for  the  Cross,  and  under 
this  conviction,  exalted  as  it  was  at  such  a moment  as  this 
into  the  predominant  impulse,  he  was  blind  to  the  baser 
motives  which  mingled  with  the  enterprise.  With  feelings 
thus  kindled  to  a flame-  of  religious  ardor,  the  soldiers  of 
Pizarro  looked  forward  with  renovated  spirits  to  the  com- 
ing conflict ; and  the  chieftain  saw  with  satisfaction  that  in 

1 Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. — Xerez, 
Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  197. — Carta  de  Hern.  Pizarro,  MS. — Oviedo,  Hiat. 
de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  7, 

3 “ Los  Eclesiasticos  i Religiosos  se  ocuparon  toda  aquella  noche  en  oracion,  pidiendo  k 
Dios  el  mas  conveniente  suceso  a su  sagrado  servicio,  exaltacion  de  la  fe  e salvacion  de  tanto 
numero  de  almas,  derramando  muchas  lagr'imas  i sangre  en  las  disciplinas  que  tomaron. 
Francisco  Pizarro  animo  a los  soldados  con  una  mui  cristiana  platica  que  les  hizo  : 
con  que,  i asegurarles  los  Eclesiasticos  de  parte  de  Dios  i de  su  Madre  Santisima  la  vito- 
ria,  amanecieron  todos  mui  deseosos  de  dar  la  batalla,  diciendo  k voces,  Exsurge,  Domine, 
et  judica  causam  tuam.”  Naharro,  Relacion  sumaria,  MS. 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU 


[BOOK  III. 


298 

the  hour  of  trial  his  men  would  be  true  to  their  leader  and 
themselves. 

It  was  late  in  the  day  before  any  movement  was  visible  in 
the  Peruvian  camp,  where  much  preparation  was  making  to 
approach  the  Christian  quarters  with  due  state  and  ceremony. 
A message  was  received  from  Atahuallpa,  informing  the  Span- 
ish commander  that  he  should  come  with  his  warriors  fully 
armed,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  Spaniards  had  come  to  his 
quarters  the  night  preceding.  This  was  not  an  agreeable  in- 
timation to  Pizarro,  though  he  had  no  reason,  probably,  to 
expect  the  contrary.  But  to  object  might  imply  distrust,  or 
perhaps  disclose,  in  some  measure,  his  own  designs.  He  ex- 
pressed his  satisfaction,  therefore,  at  the  intelligence,  assuring 
the  Inca  that,  come  as  he  would,  he  would  be  received  by  him 
as  a friend  and  brother.3 

It  was  noon  before  the  Indian  procession  was  on  its  march, 
when  it  was  seen  occupying  the  great  causeway  for  a long  ex- 
tent. In  front  came  a large  body  of  attendants,  whose  office 
seemed  to  be  to  sweep  away  every  particle  of  rubbish  from  the 
road.  High  above  the  crowd  appeared  the  Inca,  borne  on  the 
shoulders  of  his  principal  nobles,  while  others  of  the  same  rank 
marched  by  the  sides  of  his  litter,  displaying  such  a dazzling 
show  of  ornaments  on  their  persons  that,  in  the  language  of 
one  of  the  Conquerors,  “ they  blazed  like  the  sun.”  4 But 
the  greater  part  of  the  Inca’s  forces  mustered  along  the  fields 
that  lined  the  road,  and  were  spread  over  the  broad  meadows 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.5 

When  the  royal  procession  had  arrived  within  half  a mile  of 

3 “ El  governador  respondio  : Df  a tn  Senor,  que  venga  en  hora  buena  como  quisiere, 
que  de  la  manera  que  viniere  lo  recebire  como  Amigo,  i Hermano.”  Xerez,  Conq.  del 
Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii. , p.  197. — Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap. 
7. — Carta  de  Hern.  Pizarro,  MS. 

4 “ Hera  tanta  la  pateneria  que  traian  d’oro  y plata  que  hera  cossa  estrana  lo  que  reluzia 
con  el  Sol.”  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 

6 To  the  eye  of  the  old  Conqueror  so  often  quoted,  the  number  of  Peruvian  warriors 
appeared  not  less  than  50,000 ; “ mas  de  cincuenta  mil  que  tenia  de  guerra.”  (Relacion 
del  primer  Descub.,  MS.)  To  Pizarro’s  secretary,  as  they  lay  encamped  among  the  hills, 
they  seemed  about  30,000  (Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  196.)  However 
gratifying  to  the  imagination  to  repose  on  some  precise  number,  it  is  very  rarely  that  one 
can  do  so  with  safety  in  estimating  the  irregular  and  tumultuous  levies  of  a barbarian 
host. 


chap,  v.]  ATAHUALLPA  VISITS  THE  SPANIARDS.  299 


the  city,  it  came  to  a halt ; and  Pizarro  saw  with  surprise  that 
Atahuallpa  was  preparing  to  pitch  his  tents,  as  if  to  encamp 
there.  A messenger  soon  after  arrived,  informing  the  Span- 
iards that  the  Inca  would  occupy  his  present  station  the  ensu- 
ing night,  and  enter  the  city  on  the  following  morning. 

This  intelligence  greatly  disturbed  Pizarro,  who  had  shared 
in  the  general  impatience  of  his  men  at  the  tardy  movements 
of  the  Peruvians.  The  troops  had  been  under  arms  since  day- 
light, the  cavalry  mounted,  and  the  infantry  at  their  post, 
waiting  in  silence  the  coming  of  the  Inca.  A profound  still- 
ness reigned  throughout  the  town,  broken  only  at  intervals  by 
the  cry  of  the  sentinel  from  the  summit  of  the  fortress,  as  he 
proclaimed  the  movements  of  the  Indian  army.  Nothing, 
Pizarro  well  knew,  was  so  trying  to  the  soldier  as  prolonged 
suspense,  in  a critical  situation  like  the  present ; and  he  feared 
lest  his  ardor  might  evaporate,  and  be  succeeded  by  that  ner- 
vous feeling  natural  to  the  bravest  soul  at  such  a crisis,  and 
which,  if  not  fear,  is  near  akin  to  it.6  He  returned  an  answer, 
therefore,  to  Atahuallpa,  deprecating  his  change  of  purpose, 
and  adding  that  he  had  provided  everything  for  his  entertain- 
ment, and  expected  him  that  night  to  sup  with  him.7 

This  message  turned  the  Inca  from  his  purpose ; and,  strik- 
ing his  tents  again,  he  resumed  his  march,  first  advising  the 
general  that  he  should  leave  the  greater  part  of  his  warriors  be- 
hind, and  enter  the  place  with  only  a few  of  them,  and  with- 
out arms,8  as  he  preferred  to  pass  the  night  at  Caxamalca.  At 
the  same  time  he  ordered  accommodations  to  be  provided  for 
himself  and  his  retinue  in  one  of  the  large  stone  buildings, 
called,  from  a serpent  sculptured  on  the  walls,  “ the  House  of 

8 Pedro  Pizarro  says  that  an  Indian  spy  reported  to  Atahuallpa  that  the  white  men  were 
all  huddled  together  in  the  great  halls  on  the  square,  in  much  consternation,  llenos  de 
rniedo — which  was  not  far  from  the  truth,  adds  the  cavalier.  (Descub.  y Conq.,  MS.) 

7 Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — “ Asentados  sus  toldos  envio  a decir  al  gober- 
nador  que  ya  era  tarde,  que  el  queria  dormir  alh,  que  por  la  manana  vernia  : el  goberna- 
dor  le  envio  a decir  que  le  rogaba  que  viniese  luego,  porque  le  esperaba  a cenar,  e que  no 
habia  de  cenar,  hasta  que  fuese.”  Carta  de  Hern.  Pizarro,  MS. 

8 “ £1  queria  venir  luego,  e que  venia  sin  armas.  E luego  Atabaliva  se  movio  para  venir 
e dej6  all!  la  gente  con  las  armas,  6 llev6  consigo  hasta  cinco  6 seis  mil  indios  sin  armas, 
salvo  que  debajo  de  las  camisetas  trafan  unas  porras  pequenas,  e hondas,  e bolsas  con  pie- 
dras.*  Carta  de  Hern.  Pizarro,  MS. 


300 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III, 


the  Serpent.”  9 No  tidings  could  have  been  more  grateful  to 
the  Spaniards.  It  seemed  as  if  the  Indian  monarch  was  eager 
to  rush  into  the  snare  that  had  been  spread  for  him  ! The 
fanatical  cavalier  could  not  fail  to  discern  ’in  it  the  immediate 
finger  of  Providence. 

It  is  difficult  to  account  for  this  wavering  conduct  of  Ata- 
huallpa,  so  different  from  the  bold  and  decided  character  which 
history  ascribes  to  him.  There  is  no  doubt  that  he  made  his 
visit  to  the  white  men  in  perfect  good  faith ; though  Pizarro 
was  probably  right  in  conjecturing  that  this  amiable  disposition 
stood  on  a very  precarious  footing.  There  is  as  little  reason  to 
suppose  that  he  distrusted  the  sincerity  of  the  strangers  ; or  he 
would  not  thus  unnecessarily  have  proposed  to  visit  them  un- 
armed. His  original  purpose  of  coming  with  all  his  force  was 
doubtless  to  display  his  royal  state,  and  perhaps,  also,  to  show 
greater  respect  for  the  Spaniards ; but  when  he  consented  to 
accept  their  hospitality  and  pass  the  night  in  their  quarters,  he 
was  willing  to  dispense  with  a great  part  of  his  armed  soldiery 
and  visit  them  in  a manner  that  implied  entire  confidence  in 
their  good  faith.  He  was  too  absolute  in  his  own  empire 
easily  to  suspect ; and  he  probably  could  not  comprehend  the 
audacity  with  which  a few  men,  like  those  now  assembled  in 
Caxamalca,  meditated  an  assault  on  a powerful  monarch  in  the 
midst  of  his  victorious  army.  He  did  not  know  the  character 
of  the  Spaniard. 

It  was  not  long  before  sunset  when  the  van  of  the  royal  pro- 
cession entered  the  gates  of  the  city.  First  came  some  hundreds 
of  the  menials,  employed  to  clear  the  path  of  every  obstacle, 
and  singing  songs  of  triumph  as  they  came,  “ which  in  our 
ears,”  says  one  of  the  Conquerors,  “sounded  like  the  songs  of 
hell ! ” 10  Then  followed  other  bodies  of  different  ranks,  and 
dressed  in  different  liveries.  Some  wore  a showy  stuff,  check- 
ered white  and  red,  like  the  squares  of  a chess-board.11  Others 
were  clad  in  pure  white,  bearing  hammers  or  maces  of  silver  or 


9 Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  197. 

10  Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. 

11  “ Blanca  y colorada  como  las  casas  de  un  ajedrez.”  Ibid.,  MS. 


chap.  v.J  ATAHUALLPA  VISITS  THE  SPANIARDS.  301 


copper ; 12  and  the  guards,  together  with  those  in  immediate 
attendance  on  the  prince,  were  distinguished  by  a rich  azure 
livery,  and  a profusion  of  gay  ornaments,  while  the  large 
pendants  attached  to  the  ears  indicated  the  Peruvian  noble. 

Elevated  high  above  his  vassals  came  the  Inca  Atahuallpa, 
borne  on  a sedan  or  open  litter,  on  which  was  a sort  of  throne 
made  of  massive  gold  of  inestimable  value.13  The  palanquin 
was  lined  with  the  richly  colored  plumes  of  tropical  birds  and 
studded  with  shining  plates  of  gold  and  silver. 14  The  monarch’s 
attire  was  much  richer  than  on  the  preceding  evening.  Round 
his  neck  was  suspended  a collar  of  emeralds  of  uncommon  size 
and  brilliancy.15  His  short  hair  was  decorated  with  golden 
ornaments,  and  the  imperial  borla  encircled  his  temples.  The 
bearing  of  the  Inca  was  sedate  and  dignified ; and  from  his 
lofty  station  he  looked  down  on  the  multitudes  below  with  an 
air  of  composure,  like  one  accustomed  to  command. 

As  the  leading  files  of  the  procession  entered  the  great  square, 
larger,  says  an  old  chronicler,  than  any  square  in  Spain,  they 
opened  to  the  right  and  left  for  the  royal  retinue  to  pass.  Every- 
thing was  conducted  with  admirable  order.  The  monarch  was 
permitted  to  traverse  the  plaza  in  silence,  and  not  a Spaniard 
was  to  be  seen.  When  some  five  or  six  thousand  of  his  people 
had  entered  the  place,  Atahuallpa  halted,  and,  turning  round 
with  an  inquiring  look,  demanded,  “ Where  are  the  strangers  ? ’ ’ 
At  this  moment  Fray  Vicente  de  Valverde,  a Dominican 
friar,  Pizarro’s  chaplain,  and  afterward  Bishop  of  Cuzco,  came 
forward  with  his  breviary,  or,  as  other  accounts  say  a Bible,  in 
one  hand,  and  a crucifix  in  the  other,  and,  approaching  the 
Inca,  told  him  that  he  came  by  order  of  his  commander  to 

12  “ Con  martillos  en  las  manos  de  cobre  y plata.”  Ibid.,  MS. 

18  “ El  asiento  que  traia  sobre  las  andas  era  un  tablon  de  oro  que  peso  un  quintal  de  oro 
sogun  dicen  los  historiadores  25,000  pesos  6 ducados.”  Naharro,  Relacion  sumaria,  MS. 

14  “ Luego  venia  mucha  Gente  con  Armaduras,  Patenas,  i Coronas  de  Oro  i Plata  : en- 
tre  estos  venia  Atabalipa,  en  una  Litera,  aforrada  de  Pluma  de  Papagaios,  de  muchas 
colores,  guarnecida  de  chapas  de  Oro,  i Plata.”  Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom. 
iii.,  p.  198. 

18  Pearo  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — “Venia  la  persona  de  Atabalica,  la  cual  tra- 
ian  ochenta  Senores  en  hombros  todos  bestidos  de  una  librea  azul  muy  rica,  y el  bestido 
su  persona  muy  ricamente  con  su  corona  en  la  cabeza,  y al  cuello  un  collar  de  eBmeraldas 
grandes."  Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. 


302 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[book  in. 


expound  to  him  the  doctrines  of  the  true  faith,  for  which  pur- 
pose the  Spaniards  had  come  from  a great  distance  to  his  coun- 
try. The  friar  then  explained,  as  clearly  as  he  could,  the 
mysterious  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  and,  ascending  high  in  his 
account,  began  with  the  creation  of  man,  thence  passed  to  his 
fall,  to  his  subsequent  redemption  by  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  cruci- 
fixion, and  the  ascension,  when  the  Saviour  left  the  Apostle 
Peter  as  his  Vicegerent  upon  earth.  This  power  had  been 
transmitted  to  the  successors  of  the  apostles,  good  and  wise  men, 
who,  under  the  title  of  Popes,  held  authority  over  all  powers 
and  potentates  on  earth.  One  of  the  last  of  these  Popes  had 
commissioned  the  Spanish  emperor,  the  most  mighty  monarch  in 
the  world,  to  conquer  and  convert  the  natives  in  this  Western 
hemisphere ; and  his  general,  Francisco  Pizarro,  had  now  come 
to  execute  this  important  mission.  The  friar  concluded  with 
beseeching  the  Peruvian  monarch  to  receive  him  kindly,  to 
abjure  the  errors  of  his  own  faith,  and  embrace  that  of  the 
Christians  now  proffered  to  him,  the  only  one  by  which  he 
could  hope  for  salvation,  and,  furthermore,  to  acknowledge 
himself  a tributary  of  the  Emperor  Charles  the  Fifth,  who,  in 
that  event,  would  aid  and  protect  him  as  his  loyal  vassal.16 

Whether  Atahuallpa  possessed  himself  of  every  link  in  the 
curious  chain  of  argument  by  which  the  monk  connected 
Pizarro  with  St.  Peter,  may  be  doubted.  It  is  certain,  how- 
ever, that  he  must  have  had  very  incorrect  notions  of  the 
Trinity,  if,  as  Garcilasso  states,  the  interpreter  Felipillo  ex- 
plained it  by  saying  that  “the  Christians  believed  in  three 
Gods  and  one  God,  and  that  made  four.”  17  But  there  is  no 
doubt  he  perfectly  comprehended  that  the  drift  of  the  discourse 
was  to  persuade  him  to  resign  his  sceptre  and  acknowledge  the 
supremacy  of  another. 

19  Montesinos  says  that  Valverde  read  to  the  Inca  the  regular  formula  used  by  the  Span- 
iards in  their  Conquests.  (Annales,  MS.,  ano  1533.)  But  that  address,  though  absurd 
enough,  did  not  comprehend  the  whole  range  of  theology  ascribed  to  the  chaplain  on  this 
occasion.  Yet  it  is  not  impossible.  But  I have  followed  the  report  of  Fray  Naharro,  who 
collected  his  information  from  the  actors  in  the  tragedy,  and  whose  minuter  statement  is 
corroborated  by  the  more  general  testimony  of  both  the  Pizarros  and  the  secretary  Xerez. 

17  “ Por  dezir  Dios  trino  y uno  dixo  Dios  tres  y ufto  son  quatro,  sumando  los  numeros 
por  darse  & entender.”  Com.  Real.,  Parte  2,  lib.  1,  cap.  23. 


chap,  v.]  ATAHUALLPA  VISITS  THE  SPANIARDS.  303 


The  eyes  of  the  Indian  monarch  flashed  fire,  and  his  dark 
brow  grew  darker,  as  he  replied,  “ I will  be  no  man’s  tributary. 
I am  greater  than  any  prince  upon  earth.  Your  emperor  may 
be  a great  prince ; I do  not  doubt  it,  when  I see  that  he  has 
sent  his  subjects  so  far  across  the  waters ; and  I am  willing  to 
hold  him  as  a brother.  As  for  the  Pope  of  whom  you  speak, 
he  must  be  crazy  to  talk  of  giving  away  countries  which  do  not 
belong  to  him.  For  my  faith,”  he  continued,  “I  will  not 
change  it.  Your  own  God,  as  you  say,  was  put  to  death  by 
the  very  men  whom  he  created.  But  mine,”  he  concluded, 
pointing  to  his  Deity — then,  alas  ! sinking  in  glory  behind  the 
mountains — “ my  God  still  lives  in  the  heavens  and  looks  down 
on  his  children.  ’ ’ 18 

He  then  demanded  of  Valverde  by  what  authority  he  had 
said  these  things.  The  friar  pointed  to  the  book  which  he 
held,  as  his  authority.  Atahuallpa,  taking  it,  turned  over  the 
pages  a moment,  then,  as  the  insult  he  had  received  probably 
flashed  across  his  mind,  he  threw  it  down  with  vehemence,  and 
exclaimed,  “ Tell  your  comrades  that  they  shall  give  me  an 
account  of  their  doings  in  my  land.  I will  not  go  from  here 
till  they  have  made  me  full  satisfaction  for  all  the  wrongs  they 
have  committed.”  19 

The  friar,  greatly  scandalized  by  the  indignity  offered  to  the 
sacred  volume,  stayed  only  to  pick  it  up,  and,  hastening  to 
Pizarro,  informed  him  of  what  had  been  done,  exclaiming,  at 
the  same  time,  “ Do  you  not  see  that  while  we  stand  here 
wasting  our  breath  in  talking  with  this  dog,  full  of  pride  as  he 
is,  the  fields  are  filling  with  Indians  ? Set  on,  at  once ; I 
absolve  you.”  20  Pizarro  saw  that  the  hour  had  come.  He 

18  See  Appendix  No.  8,  where  the  reader  will  find  extracts  in  the  original  from  several 
contemporary  MSS.,  relating  to  the  capture  of  Atahuallpa. 

1 9 Some  accounts  describe  him  as  taxing  the  Spaniards  in  much  more  unqualified  terms. 
(See  Appendix  No.  8.)  But  language  is  not  likely  to  be  accurately  reported  in  such  seasons 
of  excitement.  According  to  some  authorities,  Atahuallpa  let  the  volume  drop  by  accident. 
(Montesinos,  Annales,  MS.,  ano  1533. — Balboa,  Hist,  du  Perou,  chap.  22.)  But  the  testi- 
mony, as  far  as  we  have  it,  of  those  present,  concurs  in  representing  it  as  stated  in  the 
text.  And,  if  he  spoke  with  the  heat  imputed  to  him,  this  act  would  only  be  in  keeping. 

20  “Visto  esto  por  el  Frayle  y lo  poco  que  aprovechaban  sus  palabras,  tomo  su  libro,  y 
abajd  su  cabeza,  y fuese  para  donde  estaba  el  dicho  Pizarro,  casi  corriendo,  y dijole : No 
veis  lo  que  pasa  : para  que  estais  en  comedimientos  y requerimientos  con  este  perro  lleno 


304 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[book  iii. 


waved  a white  scarf  in  the  air,  the  appointed  signal.  The 
fatal  gun  was  fired  from  the  fortress.  Then,  springing  into 
the  square,  the  Spanish  captain  and  his  followers  shouted  the 
old  war-cry  of  “ St.  Jago  and  at  them.”  It  was  answered  by 
the  battle-cry  of  every  Spaniard  in  the  city,  as,  rushing  from 
the  avenues  of  the  great  halls  in  which  they  were  concealed, 
they  poured  into  the  plaza , horse  and  foot,  each  in  his  own 
dark  column,  and  threw  themselves  into  the  midst  of  the  In- 
dian crowd.  The  latter,  taken  by  surprise,  stunned  by  the 
report  of  artillery  and  muskets,  the  echoes  of  which  reverber- 
ated like  thunder  from  the  surrounding  buildings,  and,  blinded 
by  the  smoke  which  rolled  in  sulphurous  volumes  along  the 
square,  were  seized  with  a panic.  They  knew  not  whither  to 
fly  for  refuge  from  the  coming  ruin.  Nobles  and  commoners 
— all  were  trampled  down  under  the  fierce  charge  of  the  cav- 
alry, who  dealt  their  blows,  right  and  left,  without  sparing ; 
while  their  swords,  flashing  through  the  thick  gloom,  carried 
dismay  into  the  hearts  of  the  wretched  natives,  who  now  for 
the  first  time  saw  the  horse  and  rider  in  all  their  terrors. 
They  made  no  resistance — as,  indeed,  they  had  no  weapons 
with  which  to  make  it.  Every  avenue  to  escape  was  closed,  for 
the  entrance  to  the  square  was  choked  up  with  the  dead  bodies 
of  men  who  had  perished  in  vain  efforts  to  fly  ; and  such  was 
the  agony  of  the  survivors  under  the  terrible  pressure  of  their 
assailants  that  a large  body  of  Indians,  by  their  convulsive 
struggles,  burst  through  the  wall  of  stone  and  dried  clay  which 
formed  part  of  the  boundary  of  the  plaza  / It  fell,  leaving  an 
opening  of  more  than  a hundred  paces,  through  which  multi- 
tudes now  found  their  way  into  the  country,  still  hotly  pur- 
sued by  the  cavalry,  who,  leaping  the  fallen  rubbish,  hung  on 

de  soberbia  que  vienen  los  campos  llenos  de  Indios  ? Salid  & el — que  yo  os  absuelvo.” 
(Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS.)  The  historian  should  be  slow  in  ascribing  conduct  so 
diabolical  to  Father  Valverde,  without  evidence.  Two  of  the  Conquerors  present,  Pedro 
Pizarro  and  Xerez,  simply  state  that  the  monk  reported  to  his  commander  the  indignity 
offered  to  the  sacred  volume.  But  Hernando  Pizarro  and  the  author  of  the  Relacion 
del  primer  Descubrimiento,  both  eye-witnesses,  and  Naharro,  Zarate,  Gomara,  Balboa, 
Herrera,  the  Inca  Titucussi  Yupanqui,  all  of  whom  obtained  their  information  from  persons 
who  were  eye-witnesses,  state  the  circumstance,  with  little  variation,  as  in  the  text.  Yet 
Oviedo  indorses  the  account  of  Xerez,  and  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega  insists  on  Valverde’s  in- 
nocence of  any  attempt  to  rouse  the  passions  of  his  comrades. 


chap,  v.]  HORRIBLE  MASSACRE.  305 

the  rear  of  the  fugitives,  striking  them  down  in  all  direc- 
tions.21 

Meanwhile  the  fight,  or  rather  massacre,  continued  hot 
around  the  Inca,  whose  person  was  the  great  object  of  the  as- 
sault. His  faithful  nobles,  rallying  about  him,  threw  them- 
selves in  the  way  of  the  assailants,  and  strove,  by  tearing  them 
from  their  saddles,  or  at  least  by  offering  their  own  bosoms  as 
a mark  for  their  vengeance,  to  shield  their  beloved  master.  It 
is  said  by  some  authorities  that  they  carried  weapons  concealed 
under  their  clothes.  If  so,  it  availed  them  little,  as  it  is  not 
pretended  that  they  used  them.  But  the  most  timid  animal 
will  defend  itself  when  at  bay.  That  the  Indians  did  not  do 
so  in  the  present  instance  is  proof  that  they  had  no  weapons  to 
use.22  Yet  they  still  continued  to  force  back  the  cavaliers, 
clinging  to  their  horses  with  dying  grasp,  and,  as  one  was  cut 
down,  another  taking  the  place  of  his  fallen  comrade  with  a 
loyalty  truly  affecting. 

The  Indian  monarch,  stunned  and  bewildered,  saw  his  faith- 
ful subjects  falling  around  him  without  fully  comprehending 
his  situation.  The  litter  on  which  he  rode  heaved  to  and  fro, 
as  the  mighty  press  swayed  backward  and  forward;  and  he 
gazed  on  the  overwhelming  ruin,  like  some  forlorn  mariner, 
who,  tossed  about  in  his  bark  by  the  furious  elements,  sees  the 
lightning’s  flash  and  hears  the  thunder  bursting  around  him 
with  the  consciousness  that  he  can  do  nothing  to  avert  his  fate. 
At  length,  weary  with  the  work  of  destruction,  the  Spaniards, 
as  the  shades  of  evening  grew  deeper,  felt  afraid  that  the  royal 
prize  might,  after  all,  elude  them ; and  some  of  the  cavaliers 

21  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii., 
p.  *^8. — Carta  de  Hern.  Pizarro,  MS. — Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8, 
cap.  7. — Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS.— Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  lib.  a,  cap.  5. — In- 
struccion  del  Inga  Titucussi  Yupanqui,  MS. 

23  The  author  of  the  Relacion  del  primer  Descubrimiento  speaks  of  a few  as  having  bows 
and  arrows,  and  of  others  as  armed  with  silver  and  copper  mallets  or  maces,  which  may, 
however,  have  been  more  for  ornament  than  for  service  in  fight.  Pedro  Pizarro  and  some 
later  writers  say  that  the  Indians  brought  thongs  with  them  to  bind  the  captive  white  men. 
Both  Hernando  Pizarro  and  the  secretary  Xerez  agree  that  their  only  arms  were  secreted 
under  their  clothes  ; but,  as  they  do  not  pretend  that  these  were  used,  and  as  it  was  an- 
nounced by  the  Inca  that  he  came  without  arms,  the  assertion  may  well  be  doubted — or 
rather  discredited.  All  authorities,  without  exception,  agree  that  no  active  resistance  was 
attempted. 


30 6 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


made  a desperate  attempt  to  end  the  affray  at  once  by  taking 
Atahuallpa’s  life.  But  Pizarro,  who  was  nearest  his  person, 
called  out,  with  stentorian  voice,  “ Let  no  one  who  values  his 
life  strike  at  the  Inca ; ” 23  and,  stretching  out  his  arm  to 
shield  him,  received  a wound  on  the  hand  from  one  of  his  own 
men — the  only  wound  received  by  a Spaniard  in  the  action.24 

The  struggle  now  became  fiercer  than  ever  round  the  royal 
litter.  It  reeled  more  and  more,  and  at  length,  several  of  the 
nobles  who  supported  it  having  been  slain,  it  was  overturned, 
and  the  Indian  prince  would  have  come  with  violence  to  the 
ground,  had  not  his  fall  been  broken  by  the  efforts  of  Pizarro 
and  some  other  of  the  cavaliers,  who  caught  him  in  their  arms. 
The  imperial  borla  was  instantly  snatched  from  his  temples  by 
a soldier  named  Estete,25  and  the  unhappy  monarch,  strongly 
secured,  was  removed  to  a neighboring  building,  where  he  was 
carefully  guarded. 

All  attempt  at  resistance  now  ceased.  The  fate  of  the  Inca 
soon  spread  over  town  and  country.  The  charm  which  might 
have  held  the  Peruvians  together  was  dissolved.  Every  man 

25  "El  marquez  dio  bozes  diciendo:  Nadie  hiera  al  indio  so  pena  de  la  vida.”  Pedro 
Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 

34  Whatever  discrepancy  exists  among  the  Castilian  accounts  in  other  respects,  all  con- 
cur in  this  remarkable  fact — that  no  Spaniard,  except  their  general,  received  a wound  on 
that  occasion.  Pizarro  saw  in  this  a satisfactory  argument  for  regarding  the  Spaniards, 
this  day,  as  under  the  special  protection  of  Providence.  See  Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap. 
Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  109. 

26  Miguel  Estete,  who  long  retained  the  silken  diadem  as  a trophy  of  the  exploit,  accord- 
ing to  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega  (Com.  Real.,  Parte  2,  lib.  1,  cap.  27),  an  indifferent  authority 
for  anything  in  this  part  of  his  history.  This  popular  writer,  whose  work,  from  his  superior 
knowledge  of  the  institutions  of  the  country,  has  obtained  greater  credit,  even  in  what 
relates  to  the  Conquest,  than  the  reports  of  the  Conquerors  themselves,  has  indulged  in  the 
romantic  vein  to  an  unpardonable  extent  in  his  account  of  the  capture  of  Atahuallpa.  Ac- 
cording to  him,  the  Peruvian  monarch  treated  the  invaders  from  the  first  with  supreme 
deference,  as  descendants  of  Viracocha,  predicted  by  his  oracles  as  to  come  and  rule  over 
the  land.  But  if  this  flattering  homage  had  been  paid  by  the  Inca,  it  would  never  have 
escaped  the  notice  of  the  Conquerors.  Garcilasso  had  read  the  Commentaries  of  Cortes, 
as  he  somewhere  tells  us  ; and  it  is  probable  that  that  general’s  account,  well  founded,  it 
appears,  of  a similar  superstition  among  the  Aztecs,  suggested  to  the  historian  the  idea  of 
a corresponding  sentiment  in  the  Peruvians,  which,  while  it  flattered  the  vanity  of  the 
Spaniards,  in  some  degree  vindicated  his  own  countrymen  from  the  charge  of  cowardice, 
incurred  by  their  too  ready  submission  ; for,  however  they  might  be  called  on  to  resist  men, 
it  would  have  been  madness  to  resist  the  decrees  of  Heaven.  Yet  Garcilasso’s  romantic 
version  has  something  in  it  so  pleasing  to  the  imagination  that  it  has  ever  found  favor  with 
the  majority  of  readers.  The  English  student  might  have  met  with  a sufficient  corrective 
in  the  criticism  of  the  sagacious  and  sceptical  Robertson. 


CHAP.  V.] 


THE  INCA  A PRISONER, 


307 


thought  only  of  his  own  safety.  Even  the  soldiery  encamped 
on  the  adjacent  fields  took  the  alarm,  and,  learning  the  fatal 
tidings,  were  seen  flying  in  every  direction  before  their  pur- 
suers, who  in  the  heat  of  triumph  showed  no  touch  of  mercy. 
At  length  night,  more  pitiful  than  man,  threw  her  friendly 
mantle  over  the  fugitives,  and  the  scattered  troops  of  Pizarro 
rallied  once  more  at  the  sound  of  the  trumpet  in  the  bloody 
square  of  Caxamalca. 

The  number  of  slain  is  reported,  as  usual,  with  great  discrep- 
ancy. Pizarro’s  secretary  says  two  thousand  natives  fell.26  A 
descendant  of  the  Incas — a safer  authority  than  Garcilasso — 
swells  the  number  to  ten  thousand.27  Truth  is  generally  found 
somewhere  between  the  extremes.  The  slaughter  was  inces- 
sant, for  there  was  nothing  to  check  it.  That  there  should 
have  been  no  resistance  will  not  appear  strange  when  we  con- 
sider the  fact  that  the  wretched  victims  were  without  arms, 
and  that  their  senses  must  have  been  completely  overwhelmed 
by  the  strange  and  appalling  spectacle  which  burst  on  them  so 
unexpectedly.  “ What  wonder  was  it,”  said  an  ancient  Inca 
to  a Spaniard,  who  repeats  it,  “ what  wonder  that  our  country- 
men lost  their  wits,  seeing  blood  run  like  water,  and  the  Inca, 
whose  person  we  all  of  us  adore,  seized  and  carried  off  by  a 
handful  of  men  ? ” 28  Yet,  though  the  massacre  was  incessant,  it 


38  Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  199. 

37  “ Los  mataron  a todos  con  los  Cavallos  con  espadas  con  arcabuzes  como  quien  mata 
ovejas — sin  hacerles  nadie  resistencia  que  no  se  escaparon  de  mas  de  diez  mil,  doscientos.” 
Instruc.  del  Inga  Titucussi,  MS. — This  document,  consisting  of  two  hundred  folio  pages,  is 
signed  by  a Peruvian  Inca,  grandson  of  the  great  Huayna  Capac,  and  nephew,  conse- 
quently, of  Atahuallpa.  It  was  written  in  1570,  and  designed  to  set  forth  to  his  Majesty 
Philip  II.  the  claims  of  Titucussi  and  the  members  of  his  family  to  the  royal  bounty.  In 
the  course  of  the  Memorial  the  writer  takes  occasion  to  recapitulate  some  of  the  principal 
events  in  the  latter  years  of  the  empire  ; and,  though  sufficiently  prolix  to  tax  even  the 
patience  of  Philip  II.,  it  is  of  much  value  as  an  historical  document,  coming  from  one  of 
the  royal  race  of  Peru. 

38  Montesinos,  Annales,  MS.,  ano  1532. — According  to  Naharro,  the  Indians  were  less 
astounded  by  the  wild  uproar  caused  by  the  sudden  assault  of  the  Spaniards,  though  “ this 
was  such  that  it  seemed  as  if  the  very  heavens  were  falling,”  than  by  a terrible  apparition 
which  appeared  in  the  air  during  the  onslaught.  It  consisted  of  a woman  and  a child,  and, 
at  their  side,  a horseman  all  clothed  in  white  on  a milk-white  charger — doubdess  the  valiant 
St.  James — who,  with  his  sword  glancing  lightning,  smote  down  the  infidel  host  and  ren- 
dered them  incapable  of  resistance.  This  miracle  the  good  father  reports  on  the  testimony 
of  three  of  his  Order,  who  were  present  in  the  action  and  who  received  the  account  from 
numbers  of  the  natives.  Relacion  sumaria,  MS. 


3o8 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


was  short  in  duration.  The  whole  time  consumed  by  it,  the 
brief  twilight  of  the  tropics,  did  not  much  exceed  half  an 
hour  ; a short  period,  indeed — yet  long  enough  to  decide  the 
fate  of  Peru  and  to  subvert  the  dynasty  of  the  Incas. 

That  night  Pizarro  kept  his  engagement  with  the  Inca,  since 
he  had  Atahuallpa  to  sup  with  him.  The  banquet  was  served 
in  one  of  the  halls  facing  the  great  square,  which  a few  hours 
before  had  been  the  scene  of  slaughter,  and  the  pavement  of 
which  was  still  encumbered  with  the  dead  bodies  of  the  Inca’s 
subjects.  The  captive  monarch  was  placed  next  his  conqueror. 
He  seemed  like  one  who  did  not  yet  fully  comprehend  the  extent 
of  his  calamity.  If  he  did,  he  showed  an  amazing  fortitude. 

* 4 It  is  the  fortune  of  war,”  he  said  ; 29  and,  if  we  may  credit 
the  Spaniards,  he  expressed  his  admiration  of  the  adroitness 
with  which  they  had  contrived  to  entrap  him  in  the  midst  of 
his  own  troops.30  He  added  that  he  had  been  made  acquainted 
with  the  progress  of  the  white  men  from  the  hour  of  their  land- 
ing, but  that  he  had  been  led  to  undervalue  their  strength 
from  the  insignificance  of  their  numbers.  He  had  no  doubt 
he  should  be  easily  able  to  overpower  them,  on  their  arrival  at 
Caxamalca,  by  his  superior  strength ; and,  as  he  wished  to  see 
for  himself  what  manner  of  men  they  were,  he  had  suffered 
them  to  cross  the  mountains,  meaning  to  select  such  as  he 
chose  for  his  own  service,  and,  getting  possession  of  their  won- 
derful arms  and  horses,  put  the  rest  to  death.31 

That  such  may  have  been  Atahuallpa’ s purpose  is  not  im- 
probable. It  explains  his  conduct  in  not  occupying  the  moun- 
tain passes,  which  afforded  such  strong  points  of  defence 
against  invasion.  But  that  a prince  so  astute,  as  by  the  gen- 
eral testimony  of  the  Conquerors  he  is  represented  to  have 
been,  should  have  made  so  impolitic  a disclosure  of  his  hidden 
motives  is  not  so  probable.  The  intercourse  with  the  Inca 

29  “ Diciendo  que  era  uso  de  Guerra  veneer,  i ser  vencido.”  Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dea 
S,  lib.  2,  cap.  12. 

30  “ Haciendo  admiracion  de  la  traza  que  tenia  hecha."  Relacion  del  primer  Descub., 
MS. 

81  “ And  in  my  opinion,”  adds  the  Conqueror  who  reports  the  speech,  “he  had  good 
grounds  for  believing  he  could  do  this,  since  nothing  but  the  miraculous  interposition  of 
Heaven  could  have  saved  us.”  Ibid.,  MS. 


CHAP,  v.]  CONDUCT  OF  THE  CONQUERORS. 


309 


was  carried  on  chiefly  by  means  of  the  interpreter  Felipillo,  or 
little  Philip , as  he  was  called,  from  his  assumed  Christian 
name — a malicious  youth,  as  it  appears,  who  bore  no  good 
will  to  Atahuallpa,  and  whose  interpretations  were  readily  ad- 
mitted by  the  Conquerors,  eager  to  find  some  pretext  for  their 
bloody  reprisals. 

Atahuallpa,  as  elsewhere  noticed,  was  at  this  time  about 
thirty  years  of  age.  He  was  well  made,  and  more  robust  than 
usual  with  his  countrymen.  His  head  was  large,  and  his 
countenance  might  have  been  called  handsome,  but  that  his 
eyes,  which  were  bloodshot,  gave  a fierce  expression  to  his 
features.  He  was  deliberate  in  speech,  grave  in  manner,  and 
toward  his  own  people  stern  even  to  severity  ; though  with 
the  Spaniards  he  showed  himself  affable,  sometimes  even  in- 
dulging in  sallies  of  mirth.32 

Pizarro  paid  every  attention  to  his  royal  captive,  and  en- 
deavored to  lighten,  if  he  could  not  dispel,  the  gloom  which, 
in  spite  of  his  assumed  equanimity,  hung  over  the  monarch’s 
brow.  He  besought  him  not  to  be  cast  down  by  his  reverses, 
for  his  lot  had  only  been  that  of  every  prince  who  had  resisted 
the  white  men.  They  had  come  into  the  country  to  proclaim 
the  gospel,  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ ; and  it  was  no  wonder 
they  had  prevailed  when  his  shield  was  over  them.  Heaven 
had  permitted  that  Atahuallpa’ s pride  should  be  humbled, 
because  of  bis  hostile  intentions  toward  the  Spaniards  and  the 
insult  he  had  offered  to  the  sacred  volume.  But  he  bade  the 
Inca  take  courage  and  confide  in  him,  “ for  the  Spaniards  were 
a generous  race,  warring  only  against  those  who  made  war  on 
them,  and  showing  grace  to  all  who  submitted  ! ” 33  Ata- 
huallpa may  have  thought  the  massacre  of  that  day  an  indif- 
ferent commentary  on  this  vaunted  lenity. 

Before  retiring  for  the  night,  Pizarro  briefly  addressed  his 
troops  on  their  present  situation.  When  he  had  ascertained 
that  not  a man  was  wounded,  he  bade  them  offer  up  thanks* 

82  Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  203. 

83  “Nosotros  vsamos  depiedad  con  nuestros  Enemigos  vencidos,  i no  hacemos  Guerra, 
lino  £ los  que  nos  la  hacer.,  i pudiendolos  destruir,  no  lo  hacemos,  antes  los  perdonamos.” 
Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  199. 


3io 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU, 


[BOOK  III. 


givings  to  Providence  for  so  great  a miracle  ; without  its 
care,  they  could  never  have  prevailed  so  easily  over  the  host 
of  their  enemies ; and  he  trusted  their  lives  had  been  re- 
served for  still  greater  things.  But,  if  they  would  succeed, 
they  had  much  to  do  for  themselves.  They  were  in  the  heart 
of  a powerful  kingdom,  encompassed  by  foes  deeply  attached 
to  their  own  sovereign.  They  must  be  ever  on  their  guard, 
therefore,  and  be  prepared  at  any  hour  to  be  roused  from 
their  slumbers  by  the  call  of  the  trumpet.34  Having  then 
posted  his  sentinels,  placed  a strong  guard  over  the  apart- 
ment of  Atahuallpa,  and  taken  all  the  precautions  of  a care- 
ful commander,  Pizarro  withdrew  to  repose ; and,  if  he  could 
really  feel  that  in  the  bloody  scenes  of  the  past  day  he  had 
been  fighting  only  the  good  fight  of  the  Cross,  he  doubtless 
slept  sounder  than  on  the  night  preceding  the  seizure  of  the 
Inca. 

On  the  following  morning,  the  first  commands  of  the  Span- 
ish chief  were  to  have  the  city  cleansed  of  its  impurities ; and 
the  prisoners,  of  whom  there  were  many  in  the  camp,  were 
employed  to  remove  the  dead  and  give  them  decent  burial. 
His  next  care  was  to  despatch  a body  of  about  thirty  horse  to 
the  quarters  lately  occupied  by  Atahuallpa  at  the  baths,  to 
take  possession  of  the  spoil,  and  disperse  the  remnant  of  the 
Peruvian  forces  which  still  hung  about  the  place. 

Before  noon,  the  party  which  he  had  detached  on  this  ser- 
vice returned  with  a large  troop  of  Indians,  men  and  women, 
among  the  latter  of  whom  were  many  of  the  wives  and  at- 
tendants of  the  Inca.  The  Spaniards  had  met  with  no  re- 
sistance ; since  the  Peruvian  warriors,  though  so  superior  in 
number,  excellent  in  appointments,  and  consisting  mostly  of 
able-bodied  young  men — for  the  greater  part  of  the  veteran 
forces  were  with  the  Inca’s  generals  at  the  south — lost  all 
heart  from  the  moment  of  their  sovereign’s  captivity.  There 
was  no  leader  to  take  his  place ; for  they  recognized  no  au- 
thority but  that  of  the  Child  of  the  Sun,  and  they  seemed  to 
be  held  by  a sort  of  invisible  charm  near  the  place  of  his  con- 


34  Ibid.,  ubi  supra. — Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 


chap,  v.]  CONDUCT  OF  THE  CONQUERORS . 311 

finement ; while  they  gazed  with  superstitious  awe  on  the 
white  men  who  could  achieve  so  audacious  an  enterprise.35 

The  number  of  Indian  prisoners  was  so  great  that  some  of 
the  Conquerors  were  for  putting  them  all  to  death,  or,  at  least, 
cutting  off  their  hands,  to  disable  them  from  acts  of  violence 
and  to  strike  terror  into  their  countrymen.36  The  proposition, 
doubtless,  came  from  the  lowest  and  most  ferocious  of  the  sol- 
diery. But  that  it  should  have  been  made  at  all  shows  what 
materials  entered  into  the  composition  of  Pizarro’s  company. 
The  chief  rejected  it  at  once,  as  no  less  impolitic  than  in- 
human, and  dismissed  the  Indians  to  their  several  homes,  with 
the  assurance  that  none  should  be  harmed  who  did  not  offer 
resistance  to  the  white  men.  A sufficient  number,  however, 
were  retained  to  wait  on  the  Conquerors,  who  were  so  wrell 
provided  in  this  respect  that  the  most  common  soldier  was  at- 
tended by  a retinue  of  menials  that  would  have  better  suited 
the  establishment  of  a noble.37 

The  Spaniards  had  found  immense  droves  of  llamas  under 
the  care  of  the  shepherds  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  baths, 
destined  for  the  consumption  of  the  court.  Many  of  them 
were  now  suffered  to  roam  abroad  among  their  native  moun- 
tains ; though  Pizarro  caused  a considerable  number  to  be  re- 
served for  the  use  of  the  army.  And  this  was  no  small  quan- 
tity, if,  as  one  of  the  Conquerors  says,  a hundred  and  fifty  of 
the  Peruvian  sheep  were  frequently  slaughtered  in  a day.38 
Indeed,  the  Spaniards  were  so  improvident  in  their  destruction 
of  these  animals  that  in  a few  years  the  superb  flocks,  nurtured 

35  From  this  time,  says  Ondegardo,  the  Spaniards,  who  hitherto  had  been  designated  as 
the  “ men  with  beards,”  barbudos , were  called  by  the  natives,  from  their  fair-complexioned 
deity,  Viracochas.  The  people  of  Cuzco,  who  bore  no  good  will  to  the  captive  Inca, 
“looked  upon  the  strangers,”  says  the  author,  “as  sent  by  Viracocha  himself.”  (Rel. 
Prim.,  MS.)  It  reminds  us  of  a superstition,  or  rather  an  amiable  fancy,  among  the  ancient 
Greeks,  that  “ the  stranger  came  from  Jupiter.” 

“ npo?  yap  Aids  ei<riv  arravre?  Hei  voi  tc.”  OAY2.,  $.  v.  57. 

36  “ Algunos  fueron  de  opinion,  que  matasen  a todos  los  Hombres  de  Guerra,  6 les  corta- 
sen  las  manos.”  Xerez,  Hist  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  200. 

37  “ Cada  Espanol  de  los  que  alii  ivan  tomaron  para  si  mui  gran  cantidad  tanto  que  como 
andava  todo  a rienda  suelta  havia  Espanol  que  tenia  docientas  piezas  de  Indios  i Indias  de 
servicio.”  Conq.  i.  Pob.  del  Piru,  MS. 

38  “ Se  matan  cada  Dia,  ciento  i cinquenta.”  Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom. 
iii.,  p.  202. 


312 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU 


[BOOK  III, 


with  so  much  care  by  the  Peruvian  government,  had  almost 
disappeared  from  the  land.39 

The  party  sent  to  pillage  the  Inca’s  pleasure-house  brought 
back  a rich  booty  in  gold  and  silver,  consisting  chiefly  of 
plate  for  the  royal  table,  which  greatly  astonished  the  Span- 
iards by  their  size  and  weight.  These,  as  well  as  some  large 
emeralds  obtained  there,  together  with  the  precious  spoils 
found  on  the  bodies  of  the  Indian  nobles  who  had  perished  in 
the  massacre,  were  placed  in  safe  custody,  to  be  hereafter  di- 
vided. In  the  city  of  Caxamalca  the  troops  also  found  maga- 
zines stored  with  goods,  both  cotton  and  woollen,  far  superior 
to  any  they  had  seen,  for  fineness  of  texture  and  the  skill  with 
which  the  various  colors  were  blended.  They  were  piled  from 
the  floors  to  the  very  roofs  of  the  buildings,  and  in  such  quan- 
tity that,  after  every  soldier  had  provided  himself  with  what 
he  desired,  it  made  no  sensible  diminution  of  the  whole 
amount.40 

Pizarro  would  now  gladly  have  directed  his  march  on  the 
Peruvian  capital.  But  the  distance  was  great,  and  his  force 
was  small.  This  must  have  been  still  furthur  crippled  by  the 
guard  required  for  the  Inca,  and  the  chief  feared  to  involve 
himself  deeper  in  a hostile  empire  so  populous  and  powerful, 
with  a prize  so  precious  in  his  keeping.  With  much  anxiety, 
therefore,  he  looked  for  reinforcements  from  the  colonies ; and 
he  despatched  a courier  to  San  Miguel,  to  inform  the  Span- 
iards there  of  his  recent  successes,  and  to  ascertain  if  there  had 
been  any  arrival  from  Panama.  Meanwhile  he  employed  his 
men  in  making  Caxamalca  a more  suitable  residence  for  a 
Christian  host,  by  erecting  a church,  or,  perhaps,  appropriat- 
ing some  Indian  edifice  to  this  use,  in  which  mass  was  regular- 
ly performed  by  the  Dominican  fathers  with  great  solemnity. 
The  dilapidated  walls  of  the  city  were  also  restored  in  a more 

39  Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap.  80. — Ondegardo,  Rel.  Seg.,  MS. — “Hasta  que  los 
destruian  todos  sin  haver  Espanol  ni  Justicia  que  lo  defendiese  ni  amparase.”  Conq.  i 
Pob.  del  Piru,  MS. 

40  Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  200. — There  was  enough,  says  the 
anonymous  Conqueror,  for  several  ship-loads.  “Todas  estascosas  de  tiendas  y ropas  de 
lana  y algodon  eran  en  tan  gran  cantidad,  que  a mi  parecer  fueran  menester  muchos  navios 
en  que  supieran.”  Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. 


CHAP,  v.]  SPLENDID  PROMISES  OF  THE  INCA.  313 

substantial  manner  than  before,  and  every  vestige  was  soon  ef- 
faced of  the  hurricane  that  had  so  recently  swept  over  it. 

It  was  not  long  before  Atahuallpa  discovered,  amidst  all  the 
show  of  religious  zeal  in  his  Conquerors,  a lurking  appetite 
more  potent  in  most  of  their  bosoms  than  either  religion  or 
ambition.  This  was  the  love  of  gold.  He  determined  to  avail 
himself  of  it  to  procure  his  own  freedom.  The  critical  posture 
of  his  affairs  made  it  important  that  this  should  not  be  long 
delayed.  His  brother  Huascar,  ever  since  his  defeat,  had  been 
detained  a prisoner,  subject  to  the  victor’s  orders.  He  was 
now  at  Andamarca,  at  no  great  distance  from  Caxamalca ; and 
Atahuallpa  feared,  with  good  reason,  that,  when  his  own  im- 
prisonment was  known,  Huascar  would  find  it  easy  to  corrupt 
his  guards,  make  his  escape,  and  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the 
contested  empire  without  a rival  to  dispute  it. 

In  the  hope,  therefore,  to  effect  his  purpose  by  appealing  to 
the  avarice  of  his  keepers,  he  one  day  told  Pizarro  that  if  he 
would  set  him  free  he  would  engage  to  cover  the  floor  of  the 
apartment  on  which  they  stood  with  gold.  Those  present  listened 
with  an  incredulous  smile  ; and,  as  the  Inca  received  no  answer, 
he  said,  with  some  emphasis,  that  “ he  would  not  merely  cover 
the  floor,  but  would  fill  the  room  with  gold  as  high  as  he  could 
reach;”  and,  standing  on  tiptoe,  he  stretched  out  his  hand 
against  the  wall.  All  stared  with  amazement ; while  they  re- 
garded it  as  the  insane  boast  of  a man  too  eager  to  procure  his 
liberty  to  weigh  the  meaning  of  his  words.  Yet  Pizarro  was 
sorely  perplexed.  As  he  had  advanced  into  the  country,  much 
that  he  had  seen,  and  all  that  he  had  heard,  had  confirmed  the 
dazzling  reports  first  received  of  the  riches  of  Peru.  Atahu- 
allpa himself  had  given  him  the  most  glowing  picture  of  the 
wealth  of  the  capital,  where  the  roofs  of  the  temples  were  plated 
with  gold,  while  the  walls  were  hung  with  tapestry  and  the 
floors  inlaid  with  tiles  of  the  same  precious  metal.  There  must 
be  some  foundation  for  all  this.  At  all  events,  it  was  safe  to  ac- 
cede to  the  Inca’s  proposition  ; since  by  so  doing  he  could  col- 
lect at  once  all  the  gold  at  his  disposal,  and  thus  prevent  its  being 
purloined  or  secreted  by  the  natives.  He  therefore  acquiesced 


314 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU, 


[book  m 


in  Atahuallpa’s  offer,  and,  drawing  a red  line  along  the  wall  at 
the  height  which  the  Inca  had  indicated,  he  caused  the  terms 
of  the  proposal  to  be  duly  recorded  by  the  notary.  The  apart- 
ment was  about  seventeen  feet  broad,  by  twenty-two  feet  long, 
and  the  line  round  the  wall  was  nine  feet  from  the  floor.41 
This  space  was  to  be  filled  with  gold ; but  it  was  understood 
that  the  gold  was  not  to  be  melted  down  into  ingots,  but  to 
retain  the  original  form  of  the  articles  into  which  it  was  manu- 
factured, that  the  Inca  might  have  the  benefit  of  the  space  which 
they  occupied.  He  further  agreed  to  fill  an  adjoining  room  of 
smaller  dimensions  twice  full  with  silver,  in  like  manner ; and 
he  demanded  two  months  to  accomplish  all  this.42 

No  sooner  was  this  arrangement  made  than  the  Inca  de- 
spatched couriers  to  Cuzco  and  the  other  principal  places  in 
the  kingdom,  with  orders  that  the  gold  ornaments  and  utensils 
should  be  removed  from  the  royal  palaces,  and  from  the  tem- 
ples and  other  public  buildings,  and  transported  without  loss  of 
time  to  Caxamalca.  Meanwhile  he  continued  to  live  in  the 
Spanish  quarters,  treated  with  the  respect  due  to  his  rank,  and 
enjoying  all  the  freedom  that  was  compatible  with  the  security 
of  his  person.  Though  not  permitted  to  go  abroad,  his  limbs 
were  unshackled,  and  he  had  the  range  of  his  own  apartments 
under  the  jealous  surveillance  of  a guard,  who  knew  too  well 


41  I have  adopted  the  dimensions  given  by  the  secretary  Xerez.  (Conq.  del  Peru,  ap. 
Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  202.)  According  to  Hernando  Pizarro,  the  apartment  was  nine  feet 
high,  but  thirty-five  feet  long  by  seventeen  or  eighteen  feet  wide.  (Carta,  MS.)  The  most 
moderate  estimate  is  large  enough. — Stevenson  says  that  they  still  show  “a  large  room, 
part  of  the  old  palace,  and  now  the  residence  of  the  Cacique  Astopilca,  where  the  ill-fated 
Inca  was  kept  a prisoner ; ” and  he  adds  that  the  line  traced  on  the  wall  is  still  visible* 
(Residence  in  South  America,  vol.  ii.,  p.  163.)  Peru  abounds  in  remains  as  ancient  as  the 
Conquest ; and  it  would  not  be  surprising  that  the  memory  of  a place  so  remarkable  as  this 
should  be  preserved  —though  anything  but  a memorial  to  be  cherished  by  the  Spaniards. 

42  The  facts  in  the  preceding  paragraph  are  told  with  remarkable  uniformity  by  the  an- 
cient chroniclers.  (Conf.  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Carta  de  Hern.  Pizarro, 
MS. — Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  ubi  supra. — Naharro,  Relacion  sumaria,  MS. — 
Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  lib.  2,  cap.  6. — Gomara,  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  cap.  114. — Herrera, 
Hist,  general,  dec.  s,  lib.  2,  cap.  1.) — Both  Naharro  and  Herrera  state  expressly  that 
Pizarro  promised  the  Inca  his  liberation  on  fulfilling  the  compact.  This  is  not  confirmed  by 
the  other  chroniclers,  who,  however,  do  not  intimate  that  the  Spanish  general  declined  the 
terms.  And  as  Pizarro,  by  all  accounts,  encouraged  his  prisoner  to  perform  his  part  of 
the  contract,  it  must  have  been  with  the  understanding  implied,  if  not  expressed,  that  he 
would  abide  by  the  other.  It  is  most  improbable  that  the  Inca  would  have  stripped  him- 
self of  his  treasures,  if  he  had  not  so  understood  it. 


CH.  v.]  HUASCAR' S EFFORTS  TO  REGAIN  LIBERTY.  3 1 5 


the  value  of  the  royal  captive  to  be  remiss.  He  was  allowed 
the  society  of  his  favorite  wives,  and  Pizarro  took  care  that  his 
domestic  privacy  should  not  be  violated.  His  subjects  had  free 
access  to  their  sovereign,  and  every  day  he  received  visits  from 
the  Indian  nobles,  who  came  to  bring  presents  and  offer  condo- 
lence to  their  unfortunate  master.  On  such  occasions  the  most 
potent  of  these  great  vassals  never  ventured  into  his  presence 
without  first  stripping  off  their  sandals  and  bearing  a load  on 
their  backs  in  token  of  reverence.  The  Spaniards  gazed  with 
curious  eyes  on  these  acts  of  homage,  or  rather  of  slavish  sub- 
mission, on  the  one  side,  and  on  the  air  of  perfect  indifference 
with  which  they  were  received,  as  a matter  of  course,  on  the 
other ; and  they  conceived  high  ideas  of  the  character  of  a 
prince  who,  even  in  his  present  helpless  condition,  could  inspire 
such  feelings  of  awe  in  his  subjects.  The  royal  levee  was  so 
well  attended,  and  such  devotion  was  shown  by  his  vassals  to 
the  captive  monarch,  as  did  not  fail,  in  the  end,  to  excite  some 
feelings  of  distrust  in  his  keepers.43 

Pizarro  did  not  neglect  the  opportunity  afforded  him  of 
communicating  the  truths  of  revelation  to  his  prisoner,  and  both 
he  and  his  chaplain,  Father  Val verde,  labored  in  the  same 
good  work.  Atahuallpa  listened  with  composure  and  apparent 
attention.  But  nothing  seemed  to  move  him  so  much  as  the 
argument  with  which  the  military  polemic  closed  his  discourse 
— that  it  could  not  be  the  true  God  whom  Atahuallpa  wor- 
shipped, since  he  had  suffered  him  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  his 
enemies.  The  unhappy  monarch  assented  to  the  force  of  this, 
acknowledging  that  his  Deity  had  indeed  deserted  him  in  his 
utmost  need..44 

Yet  his  conduct  toward  his  brother  Huascar  at  this  time  too 
clearly  proves  that,  whatever  respect  he  may  have  shown  for 
the  teachers,  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  had  made  little  im- 
pression on  his  heart.  No  sooner  had  Huascar  been  informed 

48  Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. — Nabarro,  Reiacion  sumaria,  MS. — Zarate,  Conq. 
del  Peru,  lib.  2,  cap.  6. 

44  “I  mas  dijo  Atabalipa,  que  estaba  espantado  de  lo  que  el  Govemador  lehavia  dicho: 
que  bien  conocia  que  aquel  que  hablaba  en  su  Idolo,  no  es  Dios  verdadero,  pues  tan  po© 
le  aiudo.”  Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  203. 

Peru  14 


Yol.  I 


3i  6 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


of  the  capture  of  his  rival,  and  of  the  large  ransom  he  had 
offered  for  his  deliverance,  than,  as  the  latter  had  foreseen,  he 
made  every  effort  to  regain  his  liberty,  and  sent,  or  attempted 
to  send,  a message  to  the  Spanish  commander,  that  he  would 
pay  a much  larger  ransom  than  that  promised  by  Atahuallpa, 
who,  never  having  dwelt  in  Cuzco,  was  ignorant  of  the  quan- 
tity of  treasure  there,  and  where  it  was  deposited. 

Intelligence  of  all  this  was  secretly  communicated  to  Atahu- 
allpa by  the  persons  who  had  his  brother  in  charge ; and  his 
jealousy,  thus  roused,  was  further  heightened  by  Pizarro’s  de- 
claration that  he  intended  to  have  Huascar  brought  to  Caxamal- 
ca,  where  he  would  himself  examine  into  the  controversy  and 
determine  which  of  the  two  had  the  better  title  to  the  sceptre 
of  the  Incas.  Pizarro  perceived,  from  the  first,  the  advantages 
of  a competition  which  would  enable  him,  by  throwing  his 
sword  into  the  scale  he  preferred,  to  give  it  a preponderance. 
The  party  who  held  the  sceptre  by  his  nomination  would 
henceforth  be  a tool  in  his  hands,  with  which  to  work  his  pleas- 
ure more  effectually  than  he  could  well  do  in  his  own  name. 
It  was  the  game,  as  every  reader  knows,  played  by  Edward  the 
First  in  the  affairs  of  Scotland,  and  by  many  a monarch  both 
before  and  since ; and,  though  their  examples  may  not  have 
been  familiar  to  the  unlettered  soldier,  Pizarro  was  too  quick 
in  his  perceptions  to  require,  in  this  matter,  at  least,  the  teach' 
ings  of  history. 

Atahuallpa  was  much  alarmed  by  the  Spanish  commander’s 
determination  to  have  the  suit  between  the  rival  candidates 
brought  before  him ; for  he  feared  that,  independently  of  the 
merits  of  the  case,  the  decision  would  be  likely  to  go  in  favor 
of  Huascar,  whose  mild  and  ductile  temper  would  make  him  a 
convenient  instrument  in  the  hands  of  his  conquerors.  Without 
further  hesitation,  he  determined  to  remove  this  cause  of  jeal- 
ousy forever  by  the  death  of  his  brother. 

His  orders  were  immediately  executed,  and  the  unhappy 
prince  was  drowned,  as  was  commonly  reported,  in  the  river 
of  Andamarca,  declaring  with  his  dying  breath  that  the  white 
men  would  avenge  his  murder,  and  that  his  rival  would  not 


CHAP.  V.] 


DEATH  OF  HU  A SCAR. 


317 


long  survive  him.45  Thus  perished  the  unfortunate  Huascar, 
the  legitimate  heir  of  the  throne  of  the  Incas,  in  the  very  morn- 
ing of  life,  and  the  commencement  of  his  reign ; a reign,  how- 
ever, which  had  been  long  enough  to  call  forth  the  display  of 
many  excellent  and  amiable  qualities,  though  his  nature  was 
too  gentle  to  cope  with  the  bold  and  fiercer  temper  of  his 
brother.  Such  is  the  portrait  we  have  of  him  from  the  Indian 
and  Castilian  chroniclers ; though  the  former,  it  should  be 
added,  were  the  kinsmen  of  Huascar,  and  the  latter  certainly 
bore  no  good  will  to  Atahuallpa.46 

That  prince  received  the  tidings  of  Huascar’s  death  with 
every  mark  of  surprise  and  indignation.  He  immediately  sent 
for  Pizarro,  and  communicated  the  event  to  him  with  expres- 
sions of  the  deepest  sorrow.  The  Spanish  commander  refused, 
at  first,  to  credit  the  unwelcome  news,  and  bluntly  told  the 
Inca  that  his  brother  could  not  be  dead,  and  that  he  should 
be  answerable  for  his  life.47  To  this  Atahuallpa  replied  by 
renewed  assurances  of  the  fact,  adding  that  the  deed  had 
been  perpetrated,  without  his  privity,  by  Huascar’s  keepers, 
fearful  that  he  might  take  advantage  of  the  troubles  of  the 
country  to  make  his  escape.  Pizarro,  on  making  further  in- 
quiries, found  that  the  report  of  his  death  was  but  too  true. 
That  it  should  have  been  brought  about  by  Atahuallpa’ s officers 
without  his  express  command  would  only  show  that  by  so  do- 
ing they  had  probably  anticipated  their  master’s  wishes.  The 
crime,  which  assumes  in  our  eyes  a deeper  dye  from  the  re- 
lation of  the  parties,  had  not  the  same  estimation  among  the 


46  Both  the  place  and  the  manner  of  Huascar’s  death  are  reported  with  much  discrep- 
ancy by  the  historians.  All  agree  in  the  one  important  fact  that  he  died  a violent  death 
at  the  instigation  of  his  brother.  Conf.  Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  5,  lib.  3,  cap.  2. — 
Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  204. — Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq., 
MS. — Naharro,  Relacion  sumaria,  MS. — Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  lib.  2,  cap.  6. — Instruc. 
del  Inga Titucussi,  MS. 

45  Both  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega  and  Titucussi  Yupanqui  were  descendants  from  Huayna 
Capac,  of  the  pure  Peruvian  stock,  the  natural  enemies,  therefore,  of  their  kinsman  of 
Quito,  whom  they  regarded  as  a usurper.  Circumstances  brought  the  Castilians  into 
direct  collision  with  Atahuallpa,  and  it  was  natural  they  should  seek  to  darken  his  repu- 
tation by  contrast  with  the  fair  character  of  his  rival. 

47  “Sabido  esto  por  el  Gobemador,  mostro,  que  le  pesaba  mucho  : i dijo  que  era  men- 
tira,  que  no  le  havian  muerto,  que  lo  trujesen  luego  vivo  : i sino,  que  el  mandaria  matar 
i Atabalipa.”  Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  204. 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[book  III. 


318 

Incas,  in  whose  multitudinous  families  the  bonds  of  brotherhood 
must  have  sat  loosely — much  too  loosely  to  restrain  the  arm  of 
the  despot  from  sweeping  away  any  obstacle  that  lay  in  his 
path. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Gold  Arrives  for  the  Ransom. — Visit  to  Pachacamac. — Demolition  of  the 
Idol. — The  Inca’s  Favorite  General. — The  Inca’s  Life  in  Confinement. 
— Envoys’  Conduct  in  Cuzco. — Arrival  of  Almagro. 

1533- 

Several  weeks  had  now  passed  since  Atahuallpa’s  emissaries 
had  been  despatched  for  the  gold  and  silver  that  were  to  fur- 
nish his  ransom  to  the  Spaniards.  But  the  distances  were  great, 
and  the  returns  came  in  slowly.  They  consisted,  for  the  most 
part,  of  massive  pieces  of  plate,  some  of  which  weighed  two  or 
three  arrobas — a Spanish  weight  of  twenty-five  pounds.  On 
some  days,  articles  of  the  value  of  thirty  or  forty  thousand  pesos 
de  oro  were  brought  in,  and,  occasionally,  of  the  value  of  fifty  or 
even  sixty  thousand  pesos.  The  greedy  eyes  of  the  Conquerors 
gloated  on  the  shining  heaps  of  treasure,  which  were  trans- 
ported on  the  shoulders  of  the  Indian  porters,  and,  after  being 
carefully  registered,  were  placed  in  safe  deposit  under  a strong 
guard.  They  now  began  to  believe  that  the  magnificent  prom- 
ises of  the  Inca  would  be  fulfilled.  But,  as  their  avarice  was 
sharpened  by  the  ravishing  display  of  wealth  such  as  they  had 
hardly  dared  to  imagine,  they  became  more  craving  and  impa- 
tient. They  made  no  allowance  for  the  distance  and  the  dif- 
ficulties of  the  way,  and  loudly  inveighed  against  the  tardiness 
with  which  the  royal  commands  were  executed.  They  even 
suspected  Atahuallpa  of  devising  this  scheme  only  to  gain  a 
pretext  for  communicating  with  his  subjects  in  distant  places, 
and  of  proceeding  as  dilatorily  as  possible,  in  order  to  secure 
time  for  the  execution  of  his  plans.  Rumors  of  a rising  among 
the  Peruvians  were  circulated,  and  the  Spaniards  were  in  ap- 


CHAP.  VI.] 


VISIT  TO  J> AC H AC  AM  AC . 


3*9 


prehension  of  some  general  and  sudden  assault  on  their  quar- 
ters. Their  new  acquisitions  gave  them  additional  cause  for 
solicitude : like  a miser,  they  trembled  in  the  midst  of  their 
treasures.1 

Pizarro  reported  to  his  captive  the  rumors  that  were  in  cir- 
culation among  the  soldiers,  naming,  as  one  of  the  places 
pointed  out  for  the  rendezvous  of  the  Indians,  the  neighboring 
city  of  Huamachuco.  Atahuallpa  listened  with  undisguised 
astonishment,  and  indignantly  repelled  the  charge,  as  false 
from  beginning  to  end.  “No  one  of  my  subjects,”  said  he, 
“would  dare  to  appear  in  arms,  or  to  raise  his  finger,  without 
my  orders.  You  have  me,”  he  continued,  “in  your  power. 
Is  not  my  life  at  your  disposal  ? And  what  better  security 
can  you  have  for  my  fidelity  ? ’ ’ He  then  represented  to  the 
Spanish  commander  that  the  distances  of  many  of  the  places 
were  very  great ; that  to  Cuzco,  the  capital,  although  a mes- 
sage might  be  sent  by  post,  through  a succession  of  couriers, 
in  five  days  from  Caxamalca,  it  would  require  weeks  for  a por- 
ter to  travel  over  the  same  ground  with  a heavy  load  on  his 
back.  “ But,  that  you  may  be  satisfied  I am  proceeding  in  good 
faith,”  he  added,  “ I desire  you  will  send  some  of  your  own 
people  to  Cuzco.  I will  give  them  a safe-conduct,  and,  when 
there,  they  can  superintend  the  execution  of  the  commission, 
and  see  with  their  own  eyes  that  no  hostile  movements  are  in- 
tended.” It  was  a fair  offer;  and  Pizarro,  anxious  to  get 
more  precise  and  authentic  information  of  the  state  of  the 
country,  gladly  availed  himself  of  it.2 

Before  the  departure  of  these  emissaries,  the  general  had 
despatched  his  brother  Hernando  with  about  twenty  horse  and 
a small  body  of  infantry  to  the  neighboring  town  of  Huama- 
chuco, in  order  to  reconnoitre  the  country  and  ascertain  if 
there  was  any  truth  in  the  report  of  an  armed  force  having  as- 
sembled there.  Hernando  found  everything  quiet,  and  met 
with  a kind  reception  from  the  natives.  But  before  leaving 

1 Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  lib.  2,  cap.  6. — Naharro,  Relacion  sumaria,  MS. — Xercz, 
Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  204. 

3 Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  Hi* 
pp.  203,  204.— Naharro,  Relacion  sumaria,  MS, 


320 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU, 


[BOOK  III. 


the  place  he  received  further  orders  from  his  brother  to  con- 
tinue his  march  to  Pachacamac,  a town  situated  on  the  coast, 
at  least  a hundred  leagues  distant  from  Caxamalca.  It  was 
consecrated  as  the  seat  of  the  great  temple  of  the  deity  of  that 
name,  whom  the  Peruvians  worshipped  as  the  Creator  of  the 
world.  It  is  said  that  they  found  there  altars  raise(J  to  this 
god,  on  their  first  occupation  of  the  country ; and  such  was 
the  veneration  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  natives  that  the 
Incas,  instead  of  attempting  to  abolish  his  worship,  deemed  it 
more  prudent  to  sanction  it  conjointly  with  that  of  their  own 
deity,  the  Sun.  Side  by  side  the  two  temples  rose  on  the 
heights  that  overlooked  the  city  of  Pachacamac,  and  prospered 
in  the  offerings  of  their  respective  votaries.  “It  was  a cun- 
ning arrangement,”  says  an  ancient  writer,  “ by  which  the 
great  enemy  of  man  secured  to  himself  a double  harvest  of 
souls.”3 

But  the  temple  of  Pachacamac  continued  to  maintain  its  as- 
cendency ; and  the  oracles  delivered  from  its  dark  and  myste- 
rious shrine  were  held  in  no  less  repute  among  the  natives  of 
Tavantinsuyu  (or  “the  four  quarters  of  the  world,”  as  Peru 
under  the  Incas  was  called)  than  the  oracles  of  Delphi  obtained 
among  the  Greeks.  Pilgrimages  were  made  to  the  hallowed 
spot  from  the  most  distant  regions,  and  the  city  of  Pachacamac 
became  among  the  Peruvians  what  Mecca  was  among  the 
Mahometans,  or  Cholula  with  the  people  of  Anahuac.  The 
shrine  of  the  deity,  enriched  by  the  tributes  of  the  pilgrims, 
gradually  became  one  of  the  most  opulent  in  the  land ; and 
Atahuallpa,  anxious  to  collect  his  ransom  as  speedily  as  possi- 
ble, urged  Pizarro  to  send  a detachment  in  that  direction,  to 
secure  the  treasures  before  they  could  be  secreted  by  the  priests 
of  the  temple. 

It  was  a journey  of  considerable  difficulty.  Two-thirds  of 
the  route  lay  along  the  table-land  of  the  Cordilleras,  inter- 
sected occasionally  by  crests  of  the  mountain -range  that  im- 

3 “El  demonio  Pachacama  alegre  con  este  concierto,  afirman  que  mostraua  en  sus  res- 
puestas  gran  contento  : pues  con  lo  vno  y Io  otro  era  el  seruido,  y quedauan  las  animas 
de  los  simples  malauenturados  presas  en  su  poder.”  Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap.  72. 


CHAP.  VI.] 


VISIT  TO  PACHACAMAC. 


321 


posed  no  slight  impediment  to  their  progress.  Fortunately, 
much  of  the  way  they  had  the  benefit  of  the  great  road  to 
Cuzco;  and  “ nothing  in  Christendom,”  exclaims  Hernando 
Pizarro,  “equals  the  magnificence  of  this  road  across  the 
sierra.”4  In  some  places  the  rocky  ridges  were  so  precipitous 
that  steps  were  cut  in  them  for  the  travellers,  and,  though  the 
sides  were  protected  by  heavy  stone  balustrades  or  parapets, 
it  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  the  horses  were  enabled 
to  scale  them.  The  road  was  frequently  crossed  by  streams, 
over  which  bridges  of  wood  and  sometimes  of  stone  were 
thrown ; though  occasionally,  along  the  declivities  of  the 
mountains,  the  waters  swept  down  in  such  furious  torrents  that 
the  only  method  of  passing  them  was  by  the  swinging  bridges 
of  osier,  of  which  till  now  the  Spaniards  had  had  little  expe- 
rience. They  were  secured  on  either  bank  to  heavy  buttresses 
of  stone.  But  as  they  were  originally  designed  for  nothing 
heavier  than  the  foot-passenger  and  the  llama,  and  as  they  had 
something  exceedingly  fragile  in  their  appearance,  the  Span- 
iards hesitated  to  venture  on  them  with  their  horses.  Expe- 
rience, however,  soon  showed  they  were  capable  of  bearing  a 
much  greater  weight ; and  though  the  traveller,  made  giddy 
by  the  vibration  of  the  long  avenue,  looked  with  a reeling 
brain  into  the  torrent  that  was  tumbling  at  the  depth  of  a hun- 
dred feet  or  more  below  him,  the  whole  of  the  cavalry  effected 
their  passage  without  an  accident.  At  these  bridges,  it  may 
be  remarked,  they  found  persons  stationed  whose  business  it 
was  to  collect  toll  for  the  government  from  all  travellers.5 

The  Spaniards  were  amazed  by  the  number  as  well  as  magni- 
tude of  the  flocks  of  llamas  which  they  saw  browsing  on  the 
stunted  herbage  that  grows  in  the  elevated  regions  of  the 

4 “ El  camino  de  las  sierras  es  cosa  de  ver,  porque  en  verdad  en  tierra  tan  fragosa  en  la 
cristiandad  no  se  han  visto  tan  hermosos  caminos,  toda  la  mayor  parte  de  calzada.” 
Carta,  MS. 

6 “Todos  los  arroyos  tienen  puentes  de  piedra  6 de  madera  ; en  un  rio  grande,  que  era 
muy  caudaloso  e muy  grande,  que  pasamos  dos  veces,  hallamos  puentes  de  red,  que  es 
cosa  maravillosa  de  ver  ; pasamos  por  ellas  los  caballos  ; tienen  en  cada  pasaje  dos  puen- 
tes, la  una  por  donde  pasa  la  gente  comun,  la  otra  por  donde  pasa  el  senor  de  la  tierra  6 
sus  capitanes  : esta  tienen  siempre  cerrada  e indios  que  la  guardan  ; estos  indios  cobran 
portazgo  de  los  que  pasan.”  Carta  de  Hern.  Pizarro,  MS. — Also  Relacion  del  primer 
Descub.,  MS. 


322 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


Andes.  Sometimes  they  were  gathered  in  enclosures,  but 
more  usually  were  roaming  at  large  under  the  conduct  of  their 
Indian  shepherds ; and  the  Conquerors  now  learned,  for  the 
first  time,  that  these  animals  were  tended  with  as  much  care, 
and  their  migrations  as  nicely  regulated,  as  those  of  the  vast 
flocks  of  merinos  in  their  own  country.6 

The  table-land  and  its  declivities  were  thickly  sprinkled 
with  hamlets  and  towns,  some  of  them  of  considerable  size ; 
and  the  country  in  every  direction  bore  the  marks  of  a thrifty 
husbandry.  Fields  of  Indian  corn  were  to  be  seen  in  all  its 
different  stages,  from  the  green  and  tender  ear  to  the  yellow 
ripeness  of  harvest-time.  As  they  descended  into  the  valleys 
and  deep  ravines  that  divided  the  crests  of  the  Cordilleras, 
they  were  surrounded  by  the  vegetation  of  a warmer  climate, 
which  delighted  the  eye  with  the  gay  livery  of  a thousand 
bright  colors  and  intoxicated  the  senses  with  its  perfumes. 
Everywhere  the  natural  capacities  of  the  soil  were  stimulated 
by  a minute  system  of  irrigation,  which  drew  the  fertilizing 
moisture  from  every  stream  and  rivulet  that  rolled  down  the 
declivities  of  the  Andes  ; while  the  terraced  sides  of  the  moun- 
tains were  clothed  with  gardens  and  orchards  that  teemed  with 
fruits  of  various  latitudes.  The  Spaniards  could  not  sufficiently 
admire  the  industry  with  which  the  natives  had  availed  them- 
selves of  the  bounty  of  Nature,  or  had  supplied  the  deficiency 
where  she  had  dealt  with  a more  parsimonious  hand. 

Whether  from  the  commands  of  the  Inca,  or  from  the  awe 
which  their  achievements  had  spread  throughout  the  land,  the 
Conquerors  were  received,  in  every  place  through  which  they 
passed,  with  hospitable  kindness.  Lodgings  were  provided  for 
them,  with  ample  refreshments  from  the  well -stored  magazines 
distributed  at  intervals  along  the  route.  In  many  of  the  towns 
the  inhabitants  came  out  to  welcome  them  with  singing  and 
dancing,  and,  when  they  resumed  their  march,  a number  of 

8 A comical  blunder  has  been  made  by  the  printer,  in  M.  Ternaux-Compans’  excellent 
translation  of  Xerez,  in  the  account  of  this  expedition  : “ On  trouve  sur  toute  la  route 
beaucoup  de  pores,  de  lamas.”  (Relation  de  la  Conquete  du  Perou,  p.  157.)  The  substi- 
tution of  pores  for  pares  might  well  lead  the  reader  into  the  error  of  supposing  that  swine 
existed  in  Peru  before  the  Conquest. 


GHAP.  VI.]  VISIT  TO  PACHACAMAC.  323  ' 

able-bodied  porters  were  furnished  to  carry  forward  their 
baggage.7 

At  length,  after  some  weeks  of  travel,  severe  even  with  all 
these  appliances,  Hernando  Pizarro  arrived  before  the  city  of 
Pachacamac.  It  was  a place  of  considerable  population,  and 
the  edifices  were,  many  of  them,  substantially  built.  The 
temple  of  the  tutelar  deity  consisted  of  a vast  stone  building, 
or  rather  pile  of  buildings,  which,  clustering  around  a conical 
hill,  had  the  air  of  a fortress  rather  than  a religious  establish- 
ment. But,  though  the  walls  were  of  stone,  the  roof  was 
composed  of  a light  thatch,  as  usual  in  countries  where  rain 
seldom  or  never  falls,  and  where  defence,  consequently,  is 
wanted  chiefly  against  the  rays  of  the  sun. 

Presenting  himself  at  the  lower  entrance  of  the  temple, 
Hernando  Pizarro  was  refused  admittance  by  the  guardians 
of  the  portal.  But,  exclaiming  that  “he  had  come  too  far  to 
be  stayed  by  the  arm  of  an  Indian  priest,”  he  forced  his  way 
into  the  passage,  and,  followed  by  his  men,  wound  up  the 
gallery  which  led  to  an  area  on  the  summit  of  the  mount,  at 
one  end  of  which  stood  a sort  of  chapel.  This  was  the  sanctu- 
ary of  the  dread  deity.  The  door  was  garnished  with  orna- 
ments of  crystal  and  with  turquoises  and  bits  of  coral.8  Here 
again  the  Indians  would  have  dissuaded  Pizarro  from  violating 
the  consecrated  precincts,  when  at  that  moment  the  shock  of 
an  earthquake,  that  made  the  ancient  walls  tremble  to  their 
foundation,  so  alarmed  the  natives,  both  those  of  Pizarro’s 
own  company  and  the  people  of  the  place,  that  they  fled  in 
dismay,  nothing  doubting  that  their  incensed  deity  would  bury 
the  invaders  under  the  ruins  or  consume  them  with  his  light- 
nings. But  no  such  terror  found  its  way  into  the  breasts  of 
the  Conquerors,  who  felt  that  here,  at  least,  they  were  fighting 
the  good  fight  of  the  Faith. 

7 Carta  de  Hernando  Pizarro,  MS. — Estete,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  pp.  206,  207. — Rela- 
cion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. — Both  the  last-cited  author  and  Miguel  Estete,  the  royal 
vecdor  or  inspector,  accompanied  Hernando  Pizarro  on  this  expedition,  and,  of  course, 
were  eye-witnesses,  like  himself,  of  what  they  relate.  Estete’ s narrative  is  incorporated  by 
the  secretary  Xerez  in  his  own. 

8 “ Esta  puerta  era  muy  tejida  de  diversas  cosas  de  corales  y turquesas  y cristales  y 
ctras  cosas.”  Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. 


324 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


Tearing  open  the  door,  Pizarro  and  his  party  entered.  But, 
instead  of  a hall  blazing,  as  they  had  fondly  imagined,  with 
gold  and  precious  stones,  offerings  of  the  worshippers  of  Pacha- 
camac,  they  found  themselves  in  a small  and  obscure  apart- 
ment, or  rather  den,  from  the  floor  and  sides  of  which  steamed 
up  the  most  offensive  odors — like  those  of  a slaughter-house. 
It  was  the  place  of  sacrifice.  A few  pieces  of  gold  and  some 
emeralds  were  discovered  on  the  ground,  and,  as  their  eyes 
became  accommodated  to  the  darkness,  they  discerned  in  the 
most  retired  corner  of  the  room  the  figure  of  the  deity.  It 
was  an  uncouth  monster,  made  of  wood,  with  the  head  resem- 
bling that  of  a man.  This  was  the  god  through  whose  lips 
Satan  had  breathed  forth  the  far-famed  oracles  which  had 
deluded  his  Indian  votaries  ! 9 

Tearing  the  idol  from  its  recess,  the  indignant  Spaniards 
dragged  it  into  the  open  air  and  there  broke  it  into  a hundred 
fragments.  The  place  was  then  purified,  and  a large  cross, 
made  of  stone  and  plaster,  was  erected  on  the  spot.  In  a few 
years  the  walls  of  the  temple  were  pulled  down  by  the  Spanish 
settlers,  who  found  there  a convenient  quarry  for  their  own  edi- 
fices. But  the  cross  still  remained  spreading  its  broad  arms 
over  the  ruins.  It  stood  where  it  was  planted  in  the  very 
heart  of  the  stronghold  of  heathendom ; and,  while  all  was  in 
ruins  around  it,  it  proclaimed  the  permanent  triumphs  of  the 
Faith. 

The  simple  natives,  finding  that  Heaven  had  no  bolts  in 
store  for  the  Conquerors,  and  that  their  god  had  no  power  to 
prevent  the  profanation  of  his  shrine,  came  in  gradually  and 
tendered  their  homage  to  the  strangers,  whom  they  now  re- 
garded with  feelings  of  superstitious  awe.  Pizarro  profited  by 
this  temper  to  wean  them,  if  possible,  from  their  idolatry ; 
and,  though  no  preacher  himself,  as  he  tells  us,  he  delivered  a 
discourse  as  edifying,  doubtless,  as  could  be  expected  from  the 

9 “ Aquel  era  Pachacama,  el  cual  les  sanaba  de  sus  enfermedades,  y d lo  que  alii  se 
entendid,  el  Demonio  aparecia  en  aquella  cueba  d aquellos  sacerdotes  y hablaba  con  ellos, 
y estos  entraban  con  las  peticiones  y ofrendas  de  los  que  venian  en  romeria,  que  es  cierto 
que  del  todo  el  Senorio  de  Atabalica  iban  alii,  como  los  Moros  y Turcos  van  a la  casa  de 
Meca.”  Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. — Also  Estete,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  209. 


chap,  vi.]  THE  INCA'S  FAVORITE  GENERAL. 


325 


mouth  of  a soldier  ; 10  and,  in  conclusion,  he  taught  them  the 
sign  of  the  cross,  as  an  inestimable  talisman  to  secure  them 
against  the  future  machinations  of  the  devil.11 

But  the  Spanish  commander  was  not  so  absorbed  in  his 
spiritual  labors  as  not  to  have  an  eye  to  those  temporal  con- 
cerns for  which  he  had  been  sent  to  this  quarter.  He  now 
found,  to  his  chagrin,  that  he  had  come  somewhat  too  late, 
and  that  the  priests  of  Pachacamac,  being  advised  of  his  mis- 
sion, had  secured  much  the  greater  part  of  the  gold  and  de- 
camped with  it  before  his  arrival.  A quantity  was  afterward 
discovered  buried  in  the  grounds  adjoining.12  Still,  the 
amount  obtained  was  considerable,  falling  little  short  of  eighty 
thousand  Castellanos,  a sum  which  once  would  have  been 
deemed  a compensation  for  greater  fatigues  than  they  had  en- 
countered. But  the  Spaniards  had  become  familiar  with  gold  ; 
and  their  imaginations,  kindled  by  the  romantic  adventures  in 
which  they  had  of  late  been  engaged,  indulged  in  visions  which 
all  the  gold  of  Peru  would  scarcely  have  realized. 

One  prize,  however,  Hernando  obtained  by  his  expedition, 
which  went  far  to  console  him  for  the  loss  of  his  treasure. 
While  at  Pachacamac,  he  learned  that  the  Indian  commander 
Challcuchima  lay  with  a large  force  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Xauxa,  a town  of  some  strength  at  a considerable  distance 
among  the  mountains.  This  man,  who  was  nearly  related  to 
Atahuallpa,  was  his  most  experienced  general,  and,  together 
with  Quizquiz,  now  at  Cuzco,  had  achieved  those  victories  at 
the  south  which  placed  the  Inca  on  the  throne.  From  his 
birth,  his  talents,  and  his  large  experience,  he  was  accounted 
second  to  no  subject  in  the  kingdom.  Pizarro  was  aware  of 
the  importance  of  securing  his  person.  Finding  that  the  In- 
dian noble  declined  to  meet  him  on  his  return,  he  determined 
to  march  at  once  on  Xauxa  and  take  the  chief  in  his  own  quar- 

10  “ a falta  de  predicador  les  hice  mi  sermon,  diciendo  el  engano  en  que  vivian.” 
Carta  de  Hern.  Pizarro,  MS. 

11  Ibid.,  MS. — Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. — Estete,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  209. 

12  “Y  andando  los  tiepos  el  capitan  Rodrigo  Orgonez,  y Francisco  de  Godoy,  y otros 
sacaron  gra  summa  de  oro  y plata  de  los  enterramientos.  Y aun  se  presume  y tiene  por 
cierto,  que  ay  mucho  mas  : pero  como  no  se  sabe  donde  esta  enterrado,  se  pierde.* 
Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap.  72. 


326 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[book  ni- 


ters. Such  a scheme,  considering  the  enormous  disparity  of 
numbers,  might  seem  desperate  even  for  Spaniards.  But  suc- 
cess had  given  them  such  confidence  that  they  hardly  conde- 
scended to  calculate  chances. 

The  road  across  the  mountains  presented  greater  difficulties 
than  those  on  the  former  march.  To  add  to  the  troubles  of 
the  cavalry,  the  shoes  of  their  horses  were  worn  out,  and  their 
hoofs  suffered  severely  on  the  rough  and  stony  ground.  There 
was  no  iron  at  hand,  nothing  but  gold  and  silver.  In  the 
present  emergency  they  turned  even  these  to  account ; and 
Pizarro  caused  the  horses  of  the  whole  troop  to  be  shod  with 
silver.  The  work  was  done  by  the  Indian  smiths,  and  it  an- 
swered so  well  that  in  this  precious  material  they  found  a sub- 
stitute for  iron  during  the  remainder  of  the  march.13 

Xauxa  was  a large  and  populous  place ; though  we  shall 
hardly  credit  the  assertion  of  the  Conquerors,  that  a hundred 
thousand  persons  assembled  habitually  in  the  great  square  of 
the  city.14  The  Peruvian  commander  was  encamped,  it  was 
said,  with  an  army  of  five-and-thirty  thousand  men,  at  only  a 
few  miles’  distance  from  the  town.  With  some  difficulty  he 
was  persuaded  to  an  interview  with  Pizarro.  The  latter  ad- 
dressed him  courteously,  and  urged  his  return  with  him  to  the 
Castilian  quarters  in  Caxamalca,  representing  it  as  the  com- 
mand of  the  Inca.  Ever  since  the  capture  of  his  master, 
Challcuchima  had  remained  uncertain  what  course  to  take. 
The  capture  of  the  Inca  in  this  sudden  and  mysterious  manner 
by  a race  of  beings  who  seemed  to  have  dropped  from  the 
clouds,  and  that  too  in  the  very  hour  of  his  triumph,  had  en- 
tirely bewildered  the  Peruvian  chief.  He  had  concerted  no 
plan  for  the  rescue  of  Atahuallpa,  nor,  indeed,  did  he  know 

13  “ Hicieron  hacer  herrage  de  herraduras  e clavos  para  sus  Caballos  de  Plata,  los 
cuales  hicieron  los  cien  Indios  fundidores  muy  buenos  6 cuantos  quisieron  de  ellos,  con  el 
cual  herrage  andubieron  dos  meses.”  (Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8, 
cap.  16. ) The  author  of  the  Relacion  del  primer  Descubrimiento,  MS.,  says  they  shod 
the  horses  with  silver  and  copper.  And  another  of  the  Peruvian  Conquerors  assures  us 
they  used  gold  and  silver.  (Relatione  d’un  Capitano  Spagnuolo,  ap.  Ramusio,  Navi  na- 
tion i et  Viaggi,  Venetia,  1565,  tom.  iii.,  fol.  376.)  All  agree  as  to  the  silver. 

14  “ Era  mucha  la  Gente  de  aquel  Pueblo,  i de  sus  Comarcas,  que  al  parecer  de  los  Es- 
panoles,  se  juntaban  cada  Dia  en  la  Plaga  Principal  cien  mil  Personas.”  Estete,  ap. 
Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  230. 


chap,  vi.]  THE  INCA'S  LIFE  IN  CONFINEMENT.  327 

whether  any  such  movement  would  be  acceptable  to  him.  He 
now  acquiesced  in  his  commands,  and  was  willing,  at  all  events, 
to  have  a personal  interview  with  his  sovereign.  Pizarro 
gained  his  end  without  being  obliged  to  strike  a single  blow  to 
effect  it.  The  barbarian,  when  brought  into  contact  with  the 
white  man,  would  seem  to  have  been  rebuked  by  his  superior 
genius,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  wild  animal  of  the  forest  is 
said  to  quail  before  the  steady  glance  of  the  hunter. 

Challcuchima  came  attended  by  a numerous  retinue.  He 
was  borne  in  his  sedan  on  the  shoulders  of  his  vassals,  and,  as 
he  accompanied  the  Spaniards  on  their  return  through  the 
country,  received  everywhere  from  the  inhabitants  the  homage 
paid  only  to  the  favorite  of  a monarch.  Yet  all  this  pomp 
vanished  on  his  entering  the  presence  of  the  Inca,  whom  he 
approached  with  his  feet  bare,  while  a light  burden,  which  he 
had  taken  from  one  of  the  attendants,  was  laid  on  his  back. 
As  he  drew  near,  the  old  warrior,  raising  his  hands  to  heaven, 
exclaimed,  “Would  that  I had  been  here! — this  would  not 
then  have  happened;”  then,  kneeling  down,  he  kissed  the 
hands  and  feet  of  his  royal  master  and  bathed  them  with  his 
tears.  Atahuallpa,  on  his  part,  betrayed  not  the  least  emotion, 
and  showed  no  other  sign  of  satisfaction  at  the  presence  of  his 
favorite  counsellor  than  by  simply  bidding  him  welcome. 
The  cold  demeanor  of  the  monarch  contrasted  strangely  with 
the  loyal  sensibility  of  the  subject.15 

The  rank  of  the  Inca  placed  him  at  an  immeasurable  distance 
above  the  proudest  of  his  vassals ; and  the  Spaniards  had  re- 
peated occasion  to  admire  the  ascendency  which,  even  in  his 
present  fallen  fortunes,  he  maintained  over  his  people,  and  the 
awe  with  which  they  approached  him.  Pedro  Pizarro  records 
an  interview,  at  which  he  was  present,  between  Atahuallpa 
and  one  of  his  great  nobles,  who  had  obtained  leave  to  visit 
some  remote  part  of  the  country  on  condition  of  returning  by 
a certain  day.  He  was  detained  somewhat  beyond  the  ap- 
pointed time,  and  on  entering  the  presence  with  a small  pro- 

18  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Cooq.,  MS. — “The  like  of  it,”  exclaims  Estete,  “was 
never  before  seen  since  the  Indies  were  discovered.”  Ibid.,  p.  231. 


328 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


pitiatory  gift  for  his  sovereign  his  knees  shook  so  violently  that 
it  seemed,  says  the  chronicler,  as  if  he  would  have  fallen  to  the 
ground.  His  master,  however,  received  him  kindly,  and  dis- 
missed him  without  a word  of  rebuke.16 

Atahuallpa  in  his  confinement  continued  to  receive  the  same 
respectful  treatment  from  the  Spaniards  as  hitherto.  They 
taught  him  to  play  with  dice,  and  the  more  intricate  game  of 
chess,  in  which  the  royal  captive  became  expert  and  loved  to 
beguile  with  it  the  tedious  hours  of  his  imprisonment.  To- 
ward his  own  people  he  maintained  as  far  as  possible  his 
wonted  state  and  ceremonial.  He  was  attended  by  his  wives 
and  the  girls  of  his  harem,  who,  as  was  customary,  waited  on 
him  at  table  and  discharged  the  other  menial  offices  about  his 
person.  A body  of  Indian  nobles  were  stationed  in  the  ante- 
chamber, but  never  entered  the  presence  unbidden ; and  when 
they  did  enter  it  they  submitted  to  the  same  humiliating  cere- 
monies imposed  on  the  greatest  of  his  subjects.  The  service 
of  his  table  was  gold  and  silver  plate.  His  dress,  which  he 
often  changed,  was  composed  of  the  wool  of  the  vicuna  wrought 
into  mantles,  so  fine  that  it  had  the  appearance  of  silk.  He 
sometimes  exchanged  these  for  a robe  made  of  the  skins  of  bats, 
as  soft  and  sleek  as  velvet.  Round  his  head  he  wore  the 
llautu , a woollen  turban  or  shawl  of  the  most  delicate  texture, 
wreathed  in  folds  of  various  bright  colors ; and  he  still  con- 
tinued to  encircle  his  temples  with  the  borla , the  crimson 
threads  of  which,  mingled  with  gold,  descended  so  as  partly 
to  conceal  his  eyes.  The  image  of  royalty  had  charms  for 
him,  when  its  substance  had  departed.  No  garment  or  utensil 
that  had  once  belonged  to  the  Peruvian  sovereign  could  ever 
be  used  by  another.  When  he  laid  it  aside,  it  was  carefully 
deposited  in  a chest,  kept  for  the  purpose,  and  afterward 
burned.  It  would  have  been  sacrilege  to  apply  to  vulgar  uses 
that  which  had  been  consecrated  by  the  touch  of  the  Inca.17 

Not  long  after  the  arrival  of  the  party  from  Pachacamac,  in 

16  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 

17  This  account  of  the  personal  habits  of  Atahuallpa  is  taken  from  Pedro  Pizarro,  who 
saw  him  often  in  his  confinement.  As  his  curious  narrative  is  little  known,  I have  ex* 
tracted  the  original  in  Appendix  No.  9. 


CHAP.  VI.] 


ENVOYS'  CONDUCT  IN  CUZCO . 


329 


the  latter  part  of  May,  the  three  emissaries  returned  from  Cuzco. 
They  had  been  very  successful  in  their  mission.  Owing  to  the 
Inca’s  order,  and  the  awe  which  the  white  men  now  inspired 
throughout  the  country,  the  Spaniards  had  everywhere  met 
with  a kind  reception.  They  had  been  carried  on  the  shoul- 
ders of  the  natives  in  the  hamacas , or  sedans,  of  the  country ; 
and,  as  they  had  travelled  all  the  way  to  the  capital  on  the  great 
imperial  road,  along  which  relays  of  Indian  carriers  were  es- 
tablished at  stated  intervals,  they  performed  this  journey  of 
more  than  six  hundred  miles,  not  only  without  inconvenience, 
but  with  the  most  luxurious  ease.  They  passed  through  many 
populous  towns,  and  always  found  the  simple  natives  disposed 
to  venerate  them  as  beings  of  a superior  nature.  In  Cuzco 
they  were  received  with  public  festivities,  were  sumptuously 
lodged,  and  had  every  want  anticipated  by  the  obsequious  de- 
votion of  the  inhabitants. 

Their  accounts  of  the  capital  confirmed  all  that  Pizarro  had 
before  heard  of  the  wealth  and  population  of  the  city.  Though 
they  had  remained  more  than  a week  in  this  place,  the  emissa- 
ries had  not  seen  the  whole  of  it.  The  great  temple  of  the 
Sun  they  found  literally  covered  with  plates  of  gold.  They 
had  entered  the  interior  and  beheld  the  royal  mummies,  seated 
each  in  his  gold-embossed  chair  and  in  robes  profusely  covered 
with  ornaments.  The  Spaniards  had  the  grace  to  respect  these, 
as  they  had  been  previously  enjoined  by  the  Inca  ; but  they 
required  that  the  plates  which  garnished  the  walls  should  be  all 
removed.  The  Peruvians  most  reluctantly  acquiesced  in  the 
commands  of  their  sovereign  to  desecrate  the  national  temple, 
which  every  inhabitant  of  the  city  regarded  with  peculiar  pride 
and  veneration.  With  less  reluctance  they  assisted  the  Con- 
querors in  stripping  the  ornaments  from  some  of  the  other 
edifices,  where  the  gold,  however,  being  mixed  with  a large 
proportion  of  alloy,  was  of  much  less  value.18 

The  number  of  plates  they  tore  from  the  temple  of  the  Sun 
was  seven  hundred ; and  though  of  no  great  thickness,  prob- 

13  Rel.  d'un  Capitano  Spagn.,  ap.  Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  fol.  375.- — Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub. 
y Conq.,  MS. — Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  5,  lib.  2,  cap.  12,  13. 


330 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


ably,  they  are  compared  in  size  to  the  lid  of  a chest,  ten  or 
twelve  inches  wide.19  A cornice  of  pure  gold  encircled  the 
edifice,  but  so  strongly  set  in  the  stone  that  it  fortunately  de- 
fied the  efforts  of  the  spoilers.  The  Spaniards  complained  of 
the  want  of  alacrity  shown  by  the  Indians  in  the  work  of  de- 
struction, and  said  that  there  were  other  parts  of  the  city  con- 
taining buildings  rich  in  gold  and  silver  which  they  had  not 
been  allowed  to  see.  In  truth,  their  mission,  which  at  best 
was  a most  ungrateful  one,  had  been  rendered  doubly  annoying 
by  the  manner  in  which  they  had  executed  it.  The  emissa- 
ries were  men  of  a very  low  stamp,  and,  puffed  up  by  the 
honors  conceded  to  them  by  the  natives,  they  looked  on  them- 
selves as  entitled  to  these,  and  contemned  the  poor  Indians  as 
a race  immeasurably  beneath  the  European.  They  not  only 
showed  the  most  disgusting  rapacity,  but  treated  the  highest 
nobles  with  wanton  insolence.  They  even  went  so  far,  it  is 
said,  as  to  violate  the  privacy  of  the  convents,  and  to  outrage 
the  religious  sentiments  of  the  Peruvians  by  their  scandalous 
amours  with  the  Virgins  of  the  Sun.  The  people  of  Cuzco 
were  so  exasperated  that  they  would  have  laid  violent  hands 
on  them,  but  for  their  habitual  reverence  for  the  Inca,  in  whose 
name  the  Spaniards  had  come  there.  As  it  was,  the  Indians 
collected  as  much  gold  as  was  necessary  to  satisfy  their  unworthy 
visitors,  and  got  rid  of  them  as  speedily  as  possible.20  It  was  a 
great  mistake  in  Pizarro  to  send  such  men.  There  were  per- 
sons, even  in  his  company,  who,  as  other  occasions  showed, 
had  some  sense  of  self-respect,  if  not  respect  for  the  natives. 

The  messengers  brought  with  them,  besides  silver,  full  two 
hundred  cargas  or  loads  of  gold.21  This  was  an  important  ac- 
cession to  the  contributions  of  Atahuallpa ; and,  although  the 

19  “I  de  las  Chapas  de  oro,  que  esta  Casa  tenia,  quitaron  setecientas  Planchas  . . . 

4 manera  de  Tablas  de  Caxas  de  4 tres,  i & quatro  palmos  de  largo.”  Xerez,  Conq.  del 
Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  232. 

20  Herrera,  Hist,  general,  ubi  supra. 

21  So  says  Pizarro’s  secretary:  “ I vinieron  docientas  cargas  de  Oro,  i veinte  i cinco  de 
Plata.”  (Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  ubi  supra.)  A load,  he  says,  was  brought 
by  four  Indians.  “ Cargas  de  Paligueres,  que  las  traen  quatro  Indios.”  The  meaning  of 
paligueres — not  a Spanish  word — is  doubtful.  Ternaux-Compans  supposes,  ingeniously 
enough,  that  it  may  have  something  of  the  same  meaning  with  palanquin,  to  which  it 
bears  some  resemblance. 


CHAP.  VI.] 


ARRIVAL  OF  ALMAGRO. 


331 


treasure  was  still  considerably  below  the  mark  prescribed,  the 
monarch  saw  with  satisfaction  the  time  drawing  nearer  for  the 
completion  of  his  ransom. 

Not  long  before  this,  an  event  had  occurred  which  changed 
the  condition  of  the  Spaniards  and  had  an  unfavorable  influ- 
ence on  the  fortunes  of  the  Inca.  This  was  the  arrival  of  Al- 
magro at  Caxamalca,  with  a strong  reinforcement.  That  chief 
had  succeeded,  after  great  efforts,  in  equipping  three  vessels 
and  assembling  a body  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  with 
which  he  sailed  from  Panama  the  latter  part  of  the  preceding 
year.  On  his  voyage  he  was  joined  by  a small  additional 
force  from  Nicaragua,  so  that  his  whole  strength  amounted  to 
one  hundred  and  fifty  foot  and  fifty  horse,  well  provided  with 
the  munitions  of  war.  His  vessels  were  steered  by  the  old 
pilot  Ruiz  ; but,  after  making  the  Bay  of  St.  Matthew,  he 
crept  slowly  along  the  coast,  baffled  as  usual  by  winds  and 
currents,  and  experiencing  all  the  hardships  incident  to  that 
protracted  navigation.  From  some  cause  or  other,  he  was  not 
so  fortunate  as  to  obtain  tidings  of  Pizarro  ; and  so  disheartened 
were  his  followers,  most  of  whom  -were  raw  adventurers,  that 
when  arrived  at  Puerto  Viejo  they  proposed  to  abandon  the 
expedition  and  return  at  once  to  Panama.  Fortunately,  one 
of  the  little  squadron  which  Almagro  had  sent  forward  to  Tum- 
bez  brought  intelligence  of  Pizarro  and  of  the  colony  he  had 
planted  at  San  Miguel.  Cheered  by  the  tidings,  the  cavalier 
resumed  his  voyage,  and  succeeded  at  length,  toward  the 
close  of  December,  1532,  in  bringing  his  whole  party  safe  to 
the  Spanish  settlement. 

He  there  received  the  account  of  Pizarro’s  march  across  the 
mountains,  his  seizure  of  the  Inca,  and,  soon  afterward,  of 
the  enormous  ransom  offered  for  his  liberation.  Almagro  and 
his  companions  listened  with  undisguised  amazement  to  this 
account  of  his  associate,  and  of  a change  in  his  fortunes  so 
rapid  and  wonderful  that  it  seemed  little  less  than  magic.  At 
the  same  time,  he  received  a caution  from  some  of  the  colo- 
nists not  to  trust  himself  in  the  power  of  Pizarro,  who  was 
known  to  bear  him  no  good  will. 


332 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


Not  long  after  Almagro’s  arrival  at  San  Miguel,  advices 
were  sent  of  it  to  Caxamalca,  and  a private  note  from  his  sec- 
retary Perez  informed  Pizarro  that  his  associate  had  come  with 
no  purpose  of  co-operating  with  him,  but  with  the  intention  to 
establish  an  independent  government.  Both  of  the  Spanish 
captains  seem  to  have  been  surrounded  by  mean  and  turbulent 
spirits,  who  sought  to  embroil  them  with  each  other,  trusting, 
doubtless,  to  find  their  own  account  in  the  rupture.  For  once, 
however,  their  malicious  machinations  failed. 

Pizarro  was  overjoyed  at  the  arrival  of  so  considerable  a re- 
inforcement, which  would  enable  him  to  push  his  fortunes  as 
he  had  desired,  and  go  forward  with  the  conquest  of  the  coun- 
try. He  laid  little  stress  on  the  secretary’s  communication, 
since,  whatever  might  have  been  Almagro’s  original  purpose, 
Pizarro  knew  that  the  richness  of  the  vein  he  had  now  opened 
in  the  land  would  be  certain  to  secure  his  co-operation  in 
working  it.  He  had  the  magnanimity,  therefore — for  there 
is  something  magnanimous  in  being  able  to  stifle  the  sugges- 
tions of  a petty  rivalry  in  obedience  to  sound  policy — to  send 
at  once  to  his  ancient  comrade,  and  invite  him,  with  many  as- 
surances of  friendship,  to  Caxamalca.  Almagro,  who  was  of  a 
frank  and  careless  nature,  received  the  communication  in  the 
spirit  in  which  it  was  made,  and,  after  some  necessary  delay, 
directed  his  march  into  the  interior.  But  before  leaving  San 
Miguel,  having  become  acquainted  with  the  treacherous  con- 
duct of  his  secretary,  he  recompensed  his  treason  by  hanging 
him  on  the  spot.22 

Almagro  reached  Caxamalca  about  the  middle  of  February, 
1 5 33*  The  soldiers  of  Pizarro  came  out  to  welcome  their 
countrymen,  and  the  two  captains  embraced  each  other  with 
every  mark  of  cordial  satisfaction.  All  past  differences  were 
buried  in  oblivion,  and  they  seemed  only  prepared  to  aid  one 
another  in  following  up  the  brilliant  career  now  opened  to 
them  in  the  conquest  of  an  empire. 

aa  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii., 
pp.  204,  205. — Relacion  sumaria,  MS. — Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS. — Relacion  del  primer 
Descub.,  MS. — Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  5,  lib,  3,  cap.  1. 


CHAP.  VII.] 


ARRIVAL  OF  ALMAGRO. 


333 


There  was  one  person  in  Caxamalca  on  whom  this  arrival  of 
the  Spaniards  produced  a very  different  impression  from  that 
made  on  their  own  countrymen.  This  was  the  Inca  Atahuallpa. 
He  saw  in  the  new-comers  only  a new  swarm  of  locusts  to  de- 
vour his  unhappy  country ; and  he  felt  that,  with  his  enemies 
thus  multiplying  around  him,  the  chances  were  diminished  of 
recovering  his  freedom,  or  of  maintaining  it  if  recovered.  A 
little  circumstance,  insignificant  in  itself,  but  magnified  by 
superstition  into  something  formidable,  occurred  at  this  time 
to  cast  an  additional  gloom  over  his  situation. 

A remarkable  appearance,  somewhat  of  the  nature  of  a me- 
teor, or  it  may  have  been  a comet,  was  seen  in  the  heavens  by 
some  soldiers  and  pointed  out  to  Atahuallpa.  He  gazed  on  it 
with  fixed  attention  for  some  minutes,  and  then  exclaimed, 
with  a dejected  air,  that  “ a similar  sign  had  been  seen  in  the 
skies  a short  time  before  the  death  of  his  father  Huayna  Ca- 
pac.”  23  From  this  day  a sadness  seemed  to  take  possession  of 
him,  as  he  looked  with  doubt  and  undefined  dread  to  the  fut- 
ure. Thus  it  is  that  in  seasons  of  danger  the  mind,  like  the 
senses,  becomes  morbidly  acute  in  its  perceptions,  and  the 
least  departure  from  the  regular  course  of  nature,  that  would 
have  passed  unheeded  in  ordinary  times,  to  the  superstitious 
eye  seems  pregnant  with  meaning,  as  in  some  way  or  other 
connected  with  the  destiny  of  the  individual. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Immense  Amount  of  Treasure. — Its  Division  among  the  Troops. — Rumors 
of  a Rising. — Trial  of  the  Inca.- — His  Execution. — Reflections. 

1533- 

The  arrival  of  Almagro  produced  a considerable  change  in 
Pizarro’s  prospects,  since  it  enabled  him  to  resume  active  op- 
erations and  push  forward  his  conquests  in  the  interior.  The 

23  Rel.  d’un  Capitano  Spagn.,  ap.  Ramusio,  tom.  ifi.,  fol.  377. — Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica, 
cap.  65. 


334 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


only  obstacle  in  his  way  was  the  Inca’s  ransom,  and  the  Span- 
iards had  patiently  waited,  till  the  return  of  the  emissaries  from 
Cuzco  swelled  the  treasure  to  a large  amount,  though  still  be- 
low the  stipulated  limit.  But  now  their  avarice  got  the  better 
of  their  forbearance,  and  they  called  loudly  for  the  immediate 
division  of  the  gold.  To  wait  longer  would  only  be  to  invite 
the  assault  of  their  enemies,  allured  by  a bait  so  attractive. 
While  the  treasure  remained  uncounted,  no  man  knew  its  value, 
nor  what  was  to  be  his  own  portion.  It  was  better  to  distri- 
bute it  at  once,  and  let  everyone  possess  and  defend  his  own. 
Several,  moreover,  were  now  disposed  to  return  home  and  take 
their  share  of  the  gold  with  them,  where  they  could  place  it  in 
safety.  But  these  were  few  ; while  much  the  larger  part  were 
only  anxious  to  leave  their  present  quarters  and  march  at  once 
to  Cuzco.  More  gold,  they  thought,  awaited  them  in  that 
capital  than  they  could  get  here  by  prolonging  their  stay ; 
while  every  hour  was  precious,  to  prevent  the  inhabitants  from 
secreting  their  treasures,  of  which  design  they  had  already 
given  indication. 

Pizarro  was  especially  moved  by  the  last  consideration  ; and 
he  felt  that  without  the  capital  he  could  not  hope  to  become 
master  of  the  empire.  Without  further  delay,  the  division  of 
the  treasure  was  agreed  upon. 

Yet,  before  making  this,  it  was  necessary  to  reduce  the  whole 
to  ingots  of  a uniform  standard,  for  the  spoil  was  composed  of 
an  infinite  variety  of  articles,  in  which  the  gold  was  of  very 
different  degrees  of  purity.  These  articles  consisted  of  goblets, 
ewers,  salvers,  vases,  of  every  shape  and  size,  ornaments  and 
utensils  for  the  temples  and  the  royal  palaces,  tiles  and  plates 
for  the  decoration  of  the  public  edifices,  curious  imitations  of 
different  plants  and  animals.  Among  the  plants,  the  most 
beautiful  was  the  Indian  corn,  in  which  the  golden  ear  was 
sheathed  in  its  broad  leaves  of  silver,  from  which  hung  a rich 
tassel  of  threads  of  the  same  precious  metal.  A fountain  was 
also  much  admired,  which  sent  up  a sparkling  jet  of  gold, 
while  birds  and  animals  of  the  same  material  played  in  the 
waters  at  its  base.  The  delicacy  of  the  workmanship  of  some 


chap,  vii.]  IMMENSE  AMOUNT  OF  TREASURE . 


335 


of  these,  and  the  beauty  and  ingenuity  of  the  design,  attracted 
the  admiration  of  better  judges  than  the  rude  Conquerors  of 
Peru.1 

Before  breaking  up  these  specimens  of  Indian  art,  it  was  de- 
termined to  send  a quantity,  which  should  be  deducted  from 
the  royal  fifth,  to  the  emperor.  It  would  serve  as  a sample  of 
the  ingenuity  of  the  natives,  and  would  show  him  the  value  of 
his  conquests.  A number  of  the  most  beautiful  articles  was  se- 
lected, of  the  value  of  a hundred  thousand  ducats,  and  Hernando 
Pizarro  was  appointed  to  be  the  bearer  of  them  to  Spain.  He 
was  to  obtain  an  audience  of  Charles,  and  at  the  same  time 
that  he  laid  the  treasures  before  him  he  was  to  give  an  account 
of  the  proceedings  of  the  Conquerors,  and  to  seek  a further 
augmentation  of  their  powers  and  dignities. 

No  man  in  the  army  was  better  qualified  for  this  mission, 
by  his  address  and  knowledge  of  affairs,  than  Hernando  Pi- 
zarro ; no  one  would  be  so  likely  to  urge  his  suit  with  effect 
at  the  haughty  Castilian  court.  But  other  reasons  influenced 
the  selection  of  him  at  the  present  juncture. 

His  former  jealousy  of  Almagro  still  rankled  in  his  bosom, 
and  he  had  beheld  that  chiefs  arrival  at  the  camp  with  feel- 
ings of  disgust,  which  he  did  not  care  to  conceal.  He  looked 
on  him  as  coming  to  share  the  spoils  of  victory  and  defraud 
his  brother  of  his  legitimate  honors.  Instead  of  exchanging 
the  cordial  greeting  proffered  by  Almagro  at  their  first  inter- 
view, the  arrogant  cavalier  held  back  in  sullen  silence.  His 
brother  Francis  was  greatly  displeased  at  conduct  which  threat- 
ened to  renew  their  ancient  feud,  and  he  induced  Hernando  to 
accompany  him  to  Almagro ’s  quarters  and  make  some  acknowl- 
edgment for  his  uncourteous  behavior.2  But,  notwithstanding 
this  show  of  reconciliation,  the  general  thought  the  present  a 
favorable  opportunity  to  remove  his  brother  from  the  scene  of 

1 Relatione  de  Pedro  Sancho,  ap.  Ramusio,  Viaggi,  tom.  iii.,  fol.  399. — Xerez,  Conq. 
del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  233. — Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  lib.  2.  cap.  7. — Oviedo 
saw  at  St.  Domingo  the  articles  which  Hernando  Pizarro  was  bearing  to  Castile  ; and  he 
expatiates  on  several  beautifully-wrought  vases,  richly  chased,  of  very  fine  gold,  and 
measuring  twelve  inches  in  height  and  thirty  round.  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3, 
lib.  8,  cap.  16. 

* Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  5,  lib.  2,  cap,  3. 


33<5 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[book  in. 


operations,  where  his  factious  spirit  more  than  counterbalanced 
his  eminent  services.3 

The  business  of  melting  down  the  plate  was  intrusted  to  the 
Indian  goldsmiths,  who  were  thus  required  to  undo  the  work 
of  their  own  hands.  They  toiled  day  and  night,  but  such  was 
the  quantity  to  be  recast  that  it  consumed  a full  month.  When 
the  whole  was  reduced  to  bars  of  a uniform  standard,  they  were 
nicely  weighed,  under  the.  superintendence  of  the  royal  inspec- 
tors. The  total  amount  of  the  gold  was  found  to  be  one  mill- 
ion three  hundred  and  twenty-six  thousand  five  hundred  and 
thirty-nine  pesos  de  oro,  which,  allowing  for  the  greater  value 
of  money  in  the  sixteenth  century,  would  be  equivalent,  prob- 
ably, at  the  present  time,  to  near  three  millions  and  a half  of 
pounds  sterling , or  somewhat  less  than  fifteen  millions  and  a 
half  of  dollars}  The  quantity  of  silver  was  estimated  at  fifty- 

3 According  to  Oviedo,  it  was  agreed  that  Hernando  should  have  a share  much  larger 
than  he  was  entitled  to  of  the  Inca’s  ransom,  in  the  hope  that  he  would  feel  so  rich  as 
never  to  desire  to  return  again  to  Peru  : “Trabajaron  de  le  embiar  rico  por  quitarle  de 
entre  ellos,  y porque  yendo  muy  rico  como  fue  no  tubiese  voluntad  de  tomar  a aquellas 
partes.”  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  16. 

4 Acta  de  Reparticion  del  Rescate  de  Atahuallpa,  MS. — Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap. 
Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  232. — In  reducing  the  sums  mentioned  in  this  work,  I have  availed 
myself — as  I before  did,  in  the  History  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico — of  the  labors  of 
Senor  Clemencin,  formerly  Secretary  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  History  at  Madrid.  This 
eminent  scholar,  in  the  sixth  volume  of  the  Memoirs  of  the  Academy,  prepared  wholly  by 
himself,  has  introduced  an  elabor  ate  essay  on  the  value  of  the  currency  in  the  reign  of 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  Although  this  period — the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century — was 
somewhat  earlier  than  that  of  the  Conquest  of  Peru,  yet  his  calculations  are  sufficiently 
near  the  truth  for  our  purpose,  since  the  Spanish  currency  had  not  as  yet  been  much  af- 
fected by  that  disturbing  cause,  the  influx  of  the  precious  metals  from  the  New  World.  In 
inquiries  into  the  currency  of  a remote  age,  we  may  consider,  in  the  first  place,  the  specific 
value  of  the  coin — that  is,  the  value  which  it  derives  from  the  weight,  purity,  etc.,  of  the 
metal,  circumstances  easily  determined.  In  the  second  place,  we  may  inquire  into  the 
commercial  or  comparative  worth  of  the  money — that  is,  the  value  founded  on  a compari- 
son of  the  difference  between  the  amount  of  commodities  which  the  same  sum  would  pur- 
chase formerly  and  at  the  present  time.  The  latter  inquiry  is  attended  with  great  embar- 
rassment, from  the  difficulty  of  finding  any  one  article  which  may  be  taken  as  the  true 
standard  of  value.  Wheat,  from  its  general  cultivation  and  use,  has  usually  been  selected 
by  political  economists  as  this  standard  ; and  Clemencin  has  adopted  it  in  his  calculations. 
Assuming  wheat  as  the  standard,  he  has  endeavored  to  ascertain  the  value  of  the  princi- 
pal coins  in  circulation  at  the  time  of  the  “ Catholic  Kings.”  He  makes  no  mention  in  his 
treatise  of  the  peso  de  oro,  by  which  denomination  the  sums  in  the  early  part  of  the  six- 
teenth century  were  more  frequently  expressed  than  by  any  other.  But  he  ascertains 
both  the  specific  and  the  commercial  value  of  the  castellano , which  several  of  the  old 
writers,  as  Oviedo,  Herrera,  and  Xerez,  concur  in  stating  as  precisely  equivalent  to  the 
peso  de  oro.  From  the  results  of  his  calculations,  it  appears  that  the  specific  value  of  the 
castellano,  as  stated  by  him  in  reals,  is  equal  to  three  dollars  and  seven  cents  o/our  own 
currency , while  the  commercial  value  is  nearly  four  times  as  great,  or  eleven  dollars 


CHAP.  VII.]  ITS  DIVISION  AMONG  THE  TROOPS . 337 


one  thousand  six  hundred  and  ten  marks.  History  affords  no 
parallel  of  such  a booty — and  that,  too,  in  the  most  converti- 
ble form,  in  ready  money,  as  it  were — having  fallen  to  the  lot 
of  a little  band  of  military  adventurers  like  the  Conquerors  of 
Peru.  The  great  object  of  the  Spanish  expeditions  in  the  New 
World  was  gold.  It  is  remarkable  that  their  success  should 
have  been  so  complete.  Had  they  taken  the  track  of  the  Eng- 
lish, the  French,  or  the  Dutch,  on  the  shores  of  the  northern 
continent,  how  different  would  have  been  the  result ! It  is 
equally  worthy  of  remark  that  the  wealth  thus  suddenly  ac- 
quired, by  diverting  them  from  the  slow  but  surer  and  more 
permanent  sources  of  national  prosperity,  has  in  the  end  glided 
from  their  grasp  and  left  them  among  the  poorest  of  the  na- 
tions of  Christendom. 

A new  difficulty  now  arose  in  respect  to  the  division  of  the 
treasure.  Almagro’s  followers  claimed  to  be  admitted  to  a 
share  of  it ; which,  as  they  equalled,  and,  indeed,  somewhat 
exceeded,  in  number  Pizarro’s  company,  would  reduce  the 
gains  of  these  last  very  materially.  “ We  were  not  here,  it  is 
true,”  said  Almagro’s  soldiers  to  their  comrades,  “at  the  seiz- 
ure of  the  Inca,  but  we  have  taken  our  turn  in  mounting  guard 
over  him  since  his  capture,  have  helped  you  to  defend  your 
treasures,  and  now  give  you  the  means  of  going  forward  and 
securing  your  conquests.  It  is  a common  cause,”  they  urged, 
“ in  which  all  are  equally  embarked,  and  the  gains  should  be 
shared  equally  between  us.” 

sixty-seven  cents , equal  to  two  pounds  twelve  skillings  and  sixpence  sterling.  By 
adopting  this  as  the  approximate  value  of  the  peso  de  oro  in  the  early  part  of  the  six- 
teenth century , the  reader  may  easily  compute  for  himself  the  value,  at  that  period,  of  the 
sums  mentioned  in  these  pages  ; most  of  which  are  expressed  in  that  denomination.  I 
have  been  the  more  particular  in  this  statement  since  in  my  former  work  I confined  myself 
to  the  commercial  value  of  the  money,  which,  being  much  greater  than  the  specific  value, 
founded  on  the  quality  and  weight  of  the  metal,  was  thought  by  an  ingenious  correspond- 
ent to  give  the  reader  an  exaggerated  estimate  of  the  sums  mentioned  in  the  history.  But 
it  seems  to  me  that  it  is  only  this  comparative  or  commercial  value  with  which  the  reader 
has  any  concern  ; indicating  what  amount  of  commodities  any  given  sum  represents,  that 
he  may  thus  know  the  real  worth  of  that  sum — thus  adopting  the  principle,  though  corn 
versely  stated,  of  the  old  Hudibrastic  maxim — 


“What  is  worth  in  any  thing, 

But  so  much  money  as  ’t  will  bring  ? ” 


338 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  iil 


But  this  way  of  viewing  the  matter  was  not  at  all  palatable 
to  Pizarro’s  company,  who  alleged  that  Atahuallpa’s  contract 
had  been  made  exclusively  with  them ; that  they  had  seized 
the  Inca,  had  secured  the  ransom,  had  incurred,  in  short,  all 
the  risk  of  the  enterprise,  and  were  not  now  disposed  to  share 
the  fruits  of  it  with  everyone  who  came  after  them.  There 
was  much  force,  it  could  not  be  denied,  in  this  reasoning,  and 
it  was  finally  settled  between  the  leaders  that  Almagro’s  fol- 
lowers should  resign  their  pretensions  for  a stipulated  sum  of 
no  great  amount,  and  look  to  the  career  now  opened  to  them 
for  carving  out  their  fortunes  for  themselves. 

This  delicate  affair  being  thus  harmoniously  adjusted,  Pi- 
zarro  prepared,  with  all  solemnity,  for  a division  of  the  im- 
perial spoil.  The  troops  were  called  together  in  the  great 
square,  and  the  Spanish  commander,  “with  the  fear  of  God 
before  his  eyes,”  says  the  record,  “invoked  the  assistance  of 
Heaven  to  do  the  work  before  him  conscientiously  and  justly.”  5 
The  appeal  may  seem  somewhat  out  of  place  at  the  distribu- 
tion of  spoil  so  unrighteously  acquired ; yet  in  truth,  consid- 
ering the  magnitude  of  the  treasure,  and  the  power  assumed  by 
Pizarro  to  distribute  it  according  to  the  respective  deserts  of 
the  individuals,  there  were  few  acts  of  his  life  involving  a 
heavier  responsibility.  On  his  present  decision  might  be  said 
to  hang  the  future  fortunes  of  each  one  of  his  followers — pov- 
erty or  independence  during  the  remainder  of  his  days. 

The  royal  fifth  was  first  deducted,  including  the  remittance 
already  sent  to  Spain.  The  share  appropriated  by  Pizarro 
amounted  to  fifty -seven  thousand  two  hundred  and  twenty-two 
pesos  of  gold,  and  two  thousand  three  hundred  and  fifty  marks 
of  silver.  He  had  besides  this  the  great  chair  or  throne  of 
the  Inca,  of  solid  gold,  and  valued  at  twenty-five  thousand 
pesos  de  oro.  To  his  brother  Hernando  were  paid  thirty-one 
thousand  and  eighty  pesos  of  gold,  and  two  thousand  three 
hundred  and  fifty  marks  of  silver.  De  Soto  received  seventeen 

6 “ Segun  Dios  Nuestro  Senor  se  diere  a entender  teniendo  su  conciencia  y para  lo  ma- 
jor hazer  pedia  al  ayuda  de  Dios  Nuestro  Senor,  e imboco  el  auxilio  divino.”  Acta  dc 
Reparticion  del  Rescate,  MS. 


chap,  vii.]  ITS  D/VIS/OJI  AMONG  THE  TROOPS.  339 


thousand  seven  hundred  and  forty  pesos  of  gold,  and  seven 
hundred  and  twenty-four  marks  of  silver.  Most  of  the  re- 
maining cavalry,  sixty  in  number,  received  each  eight  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  eighty  pesos  of  gold,  and  three  hun- 
dred and  sixty-two  marks  of  silver,  though  some  had  more, 
and  a few  considerably  less.  The  infantry  mustered  in  all  one 
hundred  and  five  men.  Almost  one-fifth  of  them  were  al- 
lowed, each,  four  thousand  four  hundred  and  forty  pesos  of 
gold,  and  one  hundred  and  eighty  marks  of  silver,  half  of  the 
compensation  of  the  troopers.  The  remainder  received  one- 
fourth  part  less ; though  here  again  there  were  exceptions,  and 
some  were  obliged  to  content  themselves  with  a much  smaller 
share  of  the  spoil.6 

The  new  church  of  San  Francisco,  the  first  Christian  tem- 
ple in  Peru,  was  endowed  with  two  thousand  two  hundred  and 
twenty  pesos  of  gold.  The  amount  assigned  to  Almagro’s 
company  was  not  excessive,  if  it  was  not  more  than  twenty 
thousand  pesos ; 7 and  that  reserved  for  the  colonists  of  San 
Miguel,  which  amounted  only  to  fifteen  thousand  pesos,  was 
unaccountably  small.8  There  were  among  them  certain  sol- 
diers who,  at  an  early  period  of  the  expedition,  as  the  reader 
may  remember,  abandoned  the  march  and  returned  to  San 
Miguel.  These,  certainly,  had  little  claim  to  be  remembered 
in  the  division  of  booty.  But  the  greater  part  of  the  col- 
ony consisted  of  invalids,  men  whose  health  had  been  broken 
by  their  previous  hardships,  but  who  still,  with  a stout  and 
willing  heart,  did  good  service  in  their  military  post  on 
the  sea-coast.  On  what  grounds  they  had  forfeited  their 

6 The  particulars  of  the  distribution  are  given  in  the  Acta  de  Repartition  del  Rescate, 
an  instrument  drawn  up  and  signed  by  the  royal  notary.  The  document,  which  is  there- 
fore of  unquestionable  authority,  is  among  the  MSS.  selected  for  me  from  the  collection  of 
Munoz. 

7 “ Se  diese  a la  gente  que  vino  con  el  Capitan  Diego  de  Almagro  para  ayuda  a pagar 
sus  deudas  y fletes  y suplir  algunas  necesidades  que  traian,  veinte  mil  pesos.”  (Acta  de 
Reparticion  del  Rescate,  MS.)  Herrera  says  that  100,000 pesos  were  paid  to  Almagro’s 
men.  (Hist,  general,  dec.  5,  lib.  2,  cap.  3.)  But  it  is  not  so  set  down  in  the  instru- 
ment. 

8 “ En  treinta  personas  que  quedaron  en  la  ciudad  de  San  Miguel  de  Piura  dolientes  y 
otros  que  no  vinieron  ni  se  hallaron  en  la  prision  de  Atagualpa  y toma  del  oro  porque 
algunos  son  pobres  y otros  tienen  necesidad  senalaba  15,000  p8  de  oro  para  los  repartar  S. 
Senoria  entre  las  dichas  personas.”  Ibid.,  MS. 


Peru  15 


Vol.  1 


[BOOK  III. 


340  CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 

claims  to  a more  ample  remuneration  it  is  not  easy  to  ex- 
plain. 

Nothing  is  said,  in  the  partition,  of  Almagro  himself,  who, 
by  the  terms  of  the  original  contract,  might  claim  an  equal 
share  of  the  spoil  with  his  associate.  As  little  notice  is  taken 
of  Luque,  the  remaining  partner.  Luque  himself  was,  indeed, 
no  longer  to  be  benefited  by  worldly  treasure.  He  had  died 
a short  time  before  Almagro’s  departure  from  Panama ; 9 too 
soon  to  learn  the  full  success  of  the  enterprise,  which,  but  for 
his  exertions,  must  have  failed  ; too  soon  to  become  acquainted 
with  the  achievements  and  the  crimes  of  Pizarro.  But  the 
Licentiate  Espinosa,  whom  he  represented,  and  who,  it  ap- 
pears, had  advanced  the  funds  for  the  expedition,  was  still  liv- 
ing at  St.  Domingo,  and  Luque’ s pretensions  were  explicitly 
transferred  to  him.  Yet  it  is  unsafe  to  pronounce,  at  this  dis- 
tance of  time,  on  the  authority  of  mere  negative  testimony ; 
and  it  must  be  admitted  to  form  a strong  presumption  in 
favor  of  Pizarro’s  general  equity  in  the  distribution,  that  no 
complaint  of  it  has  reached  us  from  any  of  the  parties  present, 
nor  from  contemporary  chroniclers.10 

The  division  of  the  ransom  being  completed  by  the  Span- 
iards, there  seemed  to  be  no  further  obstacle  to  their  resuming 
active  operations  and  commencing  the  march  to  Cuzco.  But 
what  was  to  be  done  with  Atahuallpa?  In  the  determination 
of  this  question,  whatever  was  expedient  was  just.11  To  liber- 
ate him  would  be  to  set  at  large  the  very  man  who  might 
prove  their  most  dangerous  enemy — one  whose  birth  and 
royal  station  would  rally  round  him  the  whole  nation,  place 
all  the  machinery  of  government  at  his  control,  and  all  its 
resources — one,  in  short,  whose  bare  word  might  concentrate 

9 Montesinos,  Annales,  MS.,  ano  1533. 

10  The  “ Spanish  Captain,”  several  times  cited,  who  tells  us  he  was  one  of  the  men  ap- 
pointed to  guard  the  treasure,  does  indeed  complain  that  a large  quantity  of  gold  vases  and 
other  articles  remained  undivided,  a palpable  injustice,  he  thinks,  to  the  honest  Conquer- 
ors, who  had  earned  all  by  their  hardships.  (Rel.  d’un  Capitano  Spagn.,  ap.  Ramusio, 
tom.  iii.,  fol.  378,  379.)  The  writer,  throughout  his  Relation,  shows  a full  measure  of  the 
coarse  and  covetous  spirit  which  marked  the  adventurers  of  Peiu. 

11  “ Y esto  tenia  por  justo,  pues  era  provechoso.”  It  is  the  sentiment  imputed  to  Pi- 
zarro by  Herrera,  Hist  general,  dec.  5,  lib.  3,  cap.  4. 


PIZARRO  IN  PERU 


chap,  vii.]  THE  INCA  DEMANDS  HIS  FREEDOM.  341 


all  the  energies  of  his  people  against  the  Spaniards,  and  thus 
delay  for  a long  period,  if  not  wholly  defeat,  the  conquest  of 
the  country.  Yet  to  hold  him  in  captivity  was  attended  with 
scarcely  less  difficulty;  since  to  guard  so  important  a prize 
would  require  such  a division  of  their  force  as  must  greatly 
cripple  its  strength  ; and  how  could  they  expect,  by  any  vigil- 
ance, to  secure  their  prisoner  against  rescue  in  the  perilous 
passes  of  the  mountains  ? 

The  Inca  himself  now  loudly  demanded  his  freedom.  The 
proposed  amount  of  the  ransom  had,  indeed,  not  been  fully  paid. 
It  may  be  doubted  whether  it  ever  would  have  been,  consider- 
ing the  embarrassments  thrown  in  the  way  by  the  guardians  of 
the  temples,  who  seemed  disposed  to  secrete  the  treasures,  rather 
than  despoil  these  sacred  depositories  to  satisfy  the  cupidity  of 
the  strangers.  It  was  unlucky,  too,  for  the  Indian  monarch 
that  much  of  the  gold,  and  that  of  the  best  quality,  consisted 
of  flat  plates  or  tiles,  which,  however  valuable,  lay  in  a com- 
pact form  that  did  little  toward  swelling  the  heap.  But  an 
immense  amount  had  been  already  realized,  and  it  would  have 
been  a still  greater  one,  the  Inca  might  allege,  but  for  the  im- 
patience of  the  Spaniards.  At  all  events,  it  was  a magnificent 
ransom,  such  as  was  never  paid  by  prince  or  potentate  before. 

These  considerations  Atahuallpa  urged  on  several  of  the  cav- 
aliers, and  especially  on  Hernando  de  Soto,  who  was  on  terms 
of  more  familiarity  with  him  than  Pizarro.  De  Soto  reported 
Atahuallpa’ s demands  to  his  leader ; but  the  latter  evaded  a di- 
rect reply.  He  did  not  disclose  the  dark  purposes  over  which  his 
mind  was  brooding.12  Not  long  afterward  he  caused  the  notary 
to  prepare  an  instrument  in  which  he  fully  acquitted  the  Inca 
of  further  obligation  in  respect  to  the  ransom.  This  he  com- 
manded to  be  publicly  proclaimed  in  the  camp,  while  at  the 
same  time  he  openly  declared  that  the  safety  of  the  Spaniards 
required  that  the  Inca  should  be  detained  in  confinement  until 
they  were  strengthened  by  additional  reinforcements.  I3 

12  “I  como  no  ahondaban  los  designios  que  tenia  le  replicaban  ; pero  fel  respondia,  que 
iba  mirando  en  ello.”  Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  5,  lib.  3,  cap.  4. 

18  “ Fatta  quella  fusione,  il  Governatore  fece  vn  atto  innanzi  al  notaro  nel  quale  liberaua 
il  Cacique  Atabalipa  et  l’absolueua  della  promessa  et  parola  che  haueua  data  a gli  Spag- 


342 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


Meanwhile  the  old  rumors  of  a meditated  attack  by  the 
natives  began  to  be  current  among  the  soldiers.  They  were 
repeated  from  one  to  another,  gaining  something  by  every 
repetition.  An  immense  army,  it  was  reported,  was  muster- 
ing at  Quito,  the  land  of  Atahuallpa’ s birth,  and  thirty  thou- 
sand Caribs  were  on  their  way  to  support  it.14  The  Caribs 
were  distributed  by  the  early  Spaniards  rather  indiscriminately 
over  the  different  parts  of  America,  being  invested  with  pecu- 
liar horrors  as  a race  of  cannibals. 

It  was  not  easy  to  trace  the  origin  of  these  rumors.  There 
was  in  the  camp  a considerable  number  of  Indians  who  be- 
longed to  the  party  of  Huascar,  and  who  were,  of  course,  hos- 
tile to  Atahuallpa.  But  his  worst  enemy  was  Felipillo,  the  in- 
terpreter from  Tumbez,  already  mentioned  in  these  pages.  This 
youth  had  conceived  a passion  for,  or,  as  some  say,  had  been 
detected  in  an  intrigue  with,  one  of  the  royal  concubines.15 
The  circumstance  had  reached  the  ears  of  Atahuallpa,  who  felt 
himself  deeply  outraged  by  it.  “ That  such  an  insult  should 
have  been  offered  by  so  base  a person  was  an  indignity,”  he 
said,  “ more  difficult  to  bear  than  his  imprisonment ; ” 16  and 
he  told  Pizarro  “ that,  by  the  Peruvian  law,  it  could  be  ex- 
piated, not  by  the  criminal’s  own  death  alone,  but  by  that  of 
his  whole  family  and  kindred.”  17  But  Felipillo  was  too  impor- 
tant to  the  Spaniards  to  be  dealt  with  so  summarily ; nor  did 

nuoli  che  lo  presero  della  casa  d’oro  c’haueua  lor  cocessa,  il  quale  fece  publicar  publica- 
mete  a suon  di  trombe  nella  piazza  di  quella  citta  di  Caxamalca.”  (Pedro  Sancho, 
Rel.,  ap.  Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  fol.  399.)  The  authority  is  unimpeachable — for  any  fact, 
at  least,  that  makes  against  the  Conquerors — since  the  Relatione  was  by  one  of  Pizar- 
ros’s  own  secretaries,  and  was  authorized  under  the  hands  of  the  general  and  his  great 
officers. 

14  “ De  la  gente  Natural  de  Quito  vienen  docientos  mil  Hombres  de  Guerra,  i treinta 
mil  Caribes,  que  comen  Carne  Humana.”  Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p. 
233. — See  also  Pedro  Sancho,  Rel.,  ap.  Ramusio,  ubi  supra. 

16  Pues  estando  asi  atravesose  un  demonio  de  una  lengua  que  se  dezia  ffelipillo  uno 
de  los  muchachos  que  el  marquez  avia  llevado  & Espana  que  al  presente  hera  lengua  y 
andava  enamorado  de  una  muger  de  Atabalipa.”  (Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS.) 
— The  amour  and  the  malice  of  Felipillo,  which,  Quintana  seems  to  think,  rest  chiefly  on 
Garcilasso’s  authority  (see  Espanoles  celebres,  tom.  ii.,  p.  210,  nota),  are  stated  very  ex- 
plicitly by  Zarate,  Naharro,  Gomara,  Balboa,  all  contemporaneous,  though  not,  like  Pedro 
Pizarro,  personally  present  in  the  army. 

16  “Diciendo  que  sentia  mas  aquel  desacato,  que  su  prision.”  Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru, 
lib.  2,  cap.  7. 

17  Ibid.,  loc.  cit. 


CHAP.  VII.  J 


RUMORS  OF  A RISING . 


343 


they  probably  attach  such  consequence  to  an  offence  which,  if 
report  be  true,  they  had  countenanced  by  their  own  example.18 
Felipillo,  however,  soon  learned  the  state  of  the  Inca’s  feelings 
toward  himself,  and  from  that  moment  he  regarded  him  with 
deadly  hatred.  Unfortunately,  his  malignant  temper  found 
ready  means  for  its  indulgence. 

The  rumors  of  a rising  among  the  natives  pointed  to  Atahu- 
allpa  as  the  author  of  it.  Challcuchima  was  examined  on  the 
subject,  but  avowed  his  entire  ignorance  of  any  such  design, 
which  he  pronounced  a malicious  slander.  Pizarro  next  laid 
the  matter  before  the  Inca  himself,  repeating  to  him  the  sto- 
ries in  circulation,  with  the  air  of  one  who  believed  them. 
“ What  treason  is  this,”  said  the  general,  “that  you  have 
meditated  against  me — me,  who  have  ever  treated  you  with 
honor,  confiding  in  your  words  as  in  those  of  a brother  ? ’ ’ 
“You  jest,”  replied  the  Inca,  who  perhaps  did  not  feel  the 
weight  of  this  confidence ; ‘ ‘ you  are  always  jesting  with  me. 
How  could  I or  my  people  think  of  conspiring  against  men  so 
valiant  as  the  Spaniards?  Do  not  jest  with  me  thus,  I be- 
seech you.”  19  “This,”  continues  Pizarro’s  secretary,  “he 
said  in  the  most  composed  and  natural  manner,  smiling  all  the 
while  to  dissemble  his  falsehood,  so  that  we  were  all  amazed  to 
find  such  cunning  in  a barbarian.”  20 

But  it  was  not  with  cunning,  but  with  the  consciousness  of 
innocence,  as  the  event  afterward  proved,  that  Atahuallpa  thus 
spoke  to  Pizarro.  He  readily  discerned,  however,  the  causes, 
perhaps  the  consequences,  of  the  accusation.  He  saw  a dark 
gulf  opening  beneath  his  feet ; and  he  was  surrounded  by 
strangers,  on  none  of  whom  he  could  lean  for  counsel  or  pro- 
tection. The  life  of  the  captive  monarch  is  usually  short ; and 
Atahuallpa  might  have  learned  the  truth  of  this,  when  he 
thought  of  Huascar.  Bitterly  did  he  now  lament  the  absence 

18  “ £ le  habian  tornado  sus  mugeres  e repartidolas  en  su  presencia  & usaban  de  ellas 
de  sus  adulterios.”  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  22. 

19  “ Burlaste  conmigo  ? siempre  me  hablas  cosas  de  burlas?  Que  parte  somos  Vo,  i 
toda  mi  Gente,  para  enojar  a tan  valientes  Hombres  como  vosotros?  No  me  digas  esas 
burlas.”  Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  234. 

20  “ De  que  los  Espanoles  que  se  las  han  oido,  estan  espantados  de  vfer  en  vn  Hombre 
Barbaro  tanta  prudencia.”  Ibid.,  loc.  cit. 


344 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


of  Hernando  Pizarro,  for,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  haughty 
spirit  of  this  cavalier  had  been  touched  by  the  condition  of  the 
royal  prisoner,  and  he  had  treated  him  with  a deference  which 
won  for  him  the  peculiar  regard  and  confidence  of  the  Indian. 
Yet  the  latter  lost  no  time  in  endeavoring  to  efface  the  gener- 
al’s suspicions  and  to  establish  his  own  innocence.  “ Am  I 
not,”  said  he  to  Pizarro,  “a  poor  captive  in  your  hands? 
How  could  I harbor  the  designs  you  impute  to  me,  when  I 
should  be  the  first  victim  of  the  outbreak  ? And  you  little 
know  my  people,  if  you  think  that  such  a movement  would  be 
made  without  my  orders  ; when  the  very  birds  in  my  domin- 
ions,” said  he,  with  somewhat  of  an  hyperbole,  “ would 
scarcely  venture  to  fly  contrary  to  my  will.  ’ ’ 21 

But  these  protestations  of  innocence  had  little  effect  on  the 
troops,  among  whom  the  story  of  a general  rising  of  the  na- 
tives continued  to  gain  credit  every  hour.  A large  force,  it 
was  said,  was  already  gathered  at  Huamachuco,  not  a hundred 
miles  from  the  camp,  and  their  assault  might  be  hourly  ex- 
pected. The  treasure  which  the  Spaniards  had  acquired 
afforded  a tempting  prize,  and  their  own  alarm  was  increased 
by  the  apprehension  of  losing  it.  The  patrols  were  doubled. 
The  horses  were  kept  saddled  and  bridled.  The  soldiers  slept 
on  their  arms  ; Pizarro  went  the  rounds  regularly  to  see  that 
every  sentinel  was  on  his  post.  The  little  army,  in  short,  was 
in  a state  of  preparation  for  instant  attack. 

Men  suffering  from  fear  are  not  likely  to  be  too  scrupulous 
as  to  the  means  of  removing  the  cause  of  it.  Murmurs,  min- 
gled with  gloomy  menaces,  were  now  heard  against  the  Inca, 
the  author  of  these  machinations.  Many  began  to  demand  his 
life,  as  necessary  to  the  safety  of  the  army.  Among  these  the 
most  vehement  were  Almagro  and  his  followers.  They  had 
not  witnessed  the  seizure  of  Atahuallpa.  They  had  no  sym- 
pathy with  him  in  his  fallen  state.  They  regarded  him  only 
as  an  encumbrance,  and  their  desire  now  was  to  push  their 
fortunes  in  the  country,  since  they  had  got  so  little  of  the  gold 

91  **  Pues  si  Yo  no  lo  quiero,  ni  las  Aves  bolar&n  en  mi  Tierra.”  Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru, 
lib.  2,  cap.  7. 


CHAP.  VII.] 


TRIAL  OF  THE  INCA . 


345 


of  Caxamalca.  They  were  supported  by  Riquelme,  the  treas- 
urer, and  by  the  rest  of  the  royal  officers.  These  men  had 
been  left  at  San  Miguel  by  Pizarro,  who  did  not  care  to  have 
such  official  spies  on  his  movements.  But  they  had  come  to 
the  camp  with  Almagro,  and  they  loudly  demanded  the  Inca’s 
death,  as  indispensable  to  the  tranquillity  of  the  country  and 
the  interests  of  the  crown.22 

To  these  dark  suggestions  Pizarro  turned — or  seemed  to  turn 
— an  unwilling  ear,  showing  visible  reluctance  to  proceed  to 
extreme  measures  with  his  prisoner.23  There  were  some  few, 
and  among  others  Hernando  de  Soto,  who  supported  him  in 
these  views,  and  who  regarded  such  measures  as  not  at  all 
justified  by  the  evidence  of  Atahuallpa’s  guilt.  In  this  state 
of  things,  the  Spanish  commander  determined  to  send  a small 
detachment  to  Huamachuco,  to  reconnoitre  the  country  and 
ascertain  what  ground  there  was  for  the  rumors  of  an  insurrec- 
tion. De  Soto  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  expedition, 
which,  as  the  distance  was  not  great,  would  occupy  but  a few 
days. 

After  that  cavalier’s  departure  the  agitation  among  the  sol- 
diers, instead  of  diminishing,  increased  to  such  a degree  that 
Pizarro,  unable  to  resist  their  importunities,  consented  to 
bring  Atahuallpa  to  instant  trial.  It  was  but  decent,  and  cer- 
tainly safer,  to  have  the  forms  of  a trial.  A court  was  organ- 
ized, over  which  the  two  captains,  Pizarro  and  Almagro,  were 
to  preside  as  judges.  An  attorney-general  was  named  to  pros- 
ecute for  the  crown,  and  counsel  was  assigned  to  the  prisoner. 

The  charges  preferred  against  the  Inca,  drawn  up  in  the 
form  of  interrogatories,  were  twelve  in  number.  The  most 
important  were,  that  he  had  usurped  the  crown  and  assassi- 
nated his  brother  Huascar  ; that  he  had  squandered  the  public 
revenues  since  the  conquest  of  the  country  by  the  Spaniards, 
and  lavished  them  on  his  kindred  and  his  minions ; that  he 

39  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. — Ped. 
Sancho,  Rel.,  ap.  Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  fob  400. — These  cavaliers  were  all  present  in  the  camp. 

23  “ Aunque  contra  voluntad  del  dicho  Gobernador,  que  nunca  estubo  bien  en  ello.” — 
Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  1V^3. — So  also  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Ped. 
Sancho,  Rel.,  ap.  Ramusio,  ubi  supra. 


346 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[boor  in. 


was  guilty  of  idolatry,  and  of  adulterous  practices,  indulging 
openly  in  a plurality  of  wives ; finally,  that  he  had  attempted 
to  excite  an  insurrection  against  the  Spaniards.24 

These  charges,  most  of  which  had  reference  to  national 
usages,  or  to  the  personal  relations  of  the  Inca,  over  which  the 
Spanish  conquerors  had  clearly  no  jurisdiction,  are  so  absurd 
that  they  might  well  provoke  a smile,  did  they  not  excite  a 
deeper  feeling.  The  last  of  the  charges  was  the  only  one  of 
moment  in  such  a trial ; and  the  weakness  of  this  may  be  in- 
ferred from  the  care  taken  to  bolster  it  up  with  the  others. 
The  mere  specification  of  the  articles  must  have  been  sufficient 
to  show  that  the  doom  of  the  Inca  was  already  sealed. 

A number  of  Indian  witnesses  were  examined,  and  their 
testimony,  filtrated  through  the  interpretation  of  Felipillo,  re- 
ceived, it  is  said,  when  necessary,  a very  different  coloring 
from  that  of  the  original.  The  examination  was  soon  ended, 
and  “ a warm  discussion,”  as  we  are  assured  by  one  of  Pizar- 
ro’s  own  secretaries,  “ took  place  in  respect  to  the  probable 
good  or  evil  that  would  result  from  the  death  of  Atahuallpa.”  25 
It  was  a question  of  expediency.  He  was  found  guilty — 
whether  of  all  the  crimes  alleged  we  are  not  informed — and  he 
was  sentenced  to  be  burnt  alive  in  the  great  square  of  Caxa- 
malca.  The  sentence  was  to  be  carried  into  execution  that 
very  night.  They  were  not  even  to  wait  for  the  return  of  De 

94  The  specification  of  the  charges  against  the  Inca  is  given  by  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega. 
(Com.  Real.,  Parte  2,  lib.  1,  cap.  37.)  One  could  have  wished  to  find  them  specified  by 
some  of  the  actors  in  the  tragedy.  But  Garcilasso  had  access  to  the  best  sources  of  in- 
formation, and  where  there  was  no  motive  for  falsehood,  as  in  the  present  instance,  his 
word  may  probably  be  taken. — The  fact  of  a process  being  formally  instituted  against  the 
Indian  monarch  is  explicitly  recognized  by  several  contemporary  writers,  by  Gomara, 
Oviedo,  and  Pedro  Sancho.  Oviedo  characterizes  the  indictment  as  “ a badly  contrived 
and  worse  written  document,  devised  by  a factious  and  unprincipled  priest,  a clumsy  no- 
tary without  conscience,  and  others  of  the  like  stamp,  who  were  all  concerned  in  this  vil- 
lany.”  (Hist  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  22.)  Most  authorities  agree  in  the 
two  principal  charges — the  assassination  of  Huascar,  and  the  conspiracy  against  the 
Spaniards. 

26  “ Doppo  l’essersi  molto  disputato,  et  ragionata  del  danno  et  vtile  che  saria  potulo 
auuenire  per  il  viuere  o morire  di  Atabalipa,  fu  risoluto  che  si  facesse  giustitia  di  lui.” 
(Ped.  Sancho,  Rel.,  ap.  Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  fol.  400.)  It  is  the  language  of  a writer  who 
may  be  taken  as  the  mouth-piece  of  Pizarro  himself.  According  to  him,  the  conclave  which 
agitated  this  “question  of  expediency”  consisted  of  the  “officers  of  the  crown  and  those 
of  the  army,  a certain  doctor  learned  in  the  law,  that  chanced  to  be  with  them,  and  the 
reverend  Father  Vicente  de  Valverde.” 


CHAP.  VII.  J 


TRIAL  OF  THE  INCA . 


347 


Soto,  when  the  information  he  would  bring  would  go  far  to 
establish  the  truth  or  the  falsehood  of  the  reports  respecting 
the  insurrection  of  the  natives.  It  was  desirable  to  obtain  the 
countenance  of  Father  Yalverde  to  these  proceedings,  and  a 
copy  of  the  judgment  was  submitted  to  the  friar  for  his  signa- 
ture, which  he  gave  without  hesitation,  declaring  that,  “in  his 
opinion,  the  Inca,  at  all  events,  deserved  death.”  26 

Yet  there  were  some  few  in  that  martial  conclave  who  re 
sisted  these  high-handed  measures.  They  considered  them  as 
a poor  requital  of  all  the  favors  bestowed  on  them  by  the  Inca, 
who  hitherto  had  received  at  their  hands  nothing  but  wrong. 
They  objected  to  the  evidence  as  wholly  insufficient ; and 
they  denied  the  authority  of  such  a tribunal  to  sit  in  judgment 
on  a sovereign  prince  in  the  heart  of  his  own  dominions.  If 
he  were  to  be  tried,  he  should  be  sent  to  Spain,  and  his  cause 
brought  before  the  emperor,  who  alone  had  power  to  deter- 
mine it. 

But  the  great  majority — and  they  were  ten  to  one — over- 
ruled these  objections,  by  declaring  there  was  no  doubt  of 
Atahuallpa’s  guilt,  and  they  were  willing  to  assume  the  re- 
sponsibility of  his  punishment.  A full  account  of  the  pro- 
ceedings would  be  sent  to  Castile,  and  the  Emperor  should  be 
informed  who  were  the  loyal  servants  of  the  crown,  and  who 
were  its  enemies.  The  dispute  ran  so  high  that  for  a time  it 
menaced  an  open  and  violent  rupture ; till,  at  length,  con- 
vinced that  resistance  was  fruitless,  the  weaker  party,  silenced, 
but  not  satisfied,  contented  themselves  with  entering  a written 
protest  against  these  proceedings,  which  would  leave  an  indeli- 
ble stain  on  the  names  of  all  concerned  in  them.27 

When  the  sentence  was  communicated  to  the  Inca,  he  was 

26  “ Respondio,  que  firmaria,  que  era  bastante  para  que  el  Inga  fuese  condenado  d 
muerte,  porque  aun  en  lo  exterior  quisieron  justificar  su  intento.”  Herrera,  Hist,  general, 
dec.  5,  lib.  3,  cap.  4. 

27  Garcilasso  has  preserved  the  names  of  some  of  those  who  so  courageously,  though 
ineffectually,  resisted  the  popular  cry  for  the  Inca’s  blood.  (Com.  Real.,  Parte  2,  lib.  1, 
cap.  37.)  They  were  doubtless  correct  in  denying  the  right  of  such  a tribunal  to  sit  in 
judgment  on  an  independent  prince  like  the  Inca  of  Peru,  but  not  so  correct  in  supposing 
that  their  master  the  emperor  had  a better  right.  Vattel  (book  ii.,  ch.  4)  especially  animad. 
verts  on  this  pretended  trial  of  Atahuallpa,  as  a manifest  outrage  on  the  law  of  nations. 


348 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


greatly  overcome  by  it.  He  had,  indeed,  for  some  time, 
looked  to  such  an  issue  as  probable,  and  had  been  heard  to  in- 
timate as  much  to  those  about  him.  But  the  probability  of 
such  an  event  is  very  different  from  its  certainty — and  that, 
too,  so  sudden  and  speedy.  For  a moment  the  overwhelming 
conviction  of  it  unmanned  him,  and  he  exclaimed,  with  tears 
in  his  eyes,  “ What  have  I done,  or  my  children,  that  I should 
meet  such  a fate?  And  from  your  hands,  too,”  said  he,  ad- 
dressing Pizarro ; “ you,  who  have  met  with  friendship  and 
kindness  from  my  people,  with  whom  I have  shared  my  treas- 
ures, who  have  received  nothing  but  benefits  from  my  hands  ! ’ * 
In  the  most  piteous  tones,  he  then  implored  that  his  life  might 
be  spared,  promising  any  guarantee  that  might  be  required  for 
the  safety  of  every  Spaniard  in  the  army— promising  double 
the  ransom  he  had  already  paid,  if  time  were  only  given  him 
to  obtain  it.28 

An  eye-witness  assures  us  that  Pizarro  was  visibly  affected, 
as  he  turned  away  from  the  Inca,  to  whose  appeal  he  had  no 
power  to  listen  in  opposition  to  the  voice  of  the  army  and  to 
his  own  sense  of  what  was  due  to  the  security  of  the  country.29 
Atahuallpa,  finding  he  had  no  power  to  turn  his  Conqueror 
from  his  purpose,  recovered  his  habitual  self-possession,  and 
from  that  moment  submitted  himself  to  his  fate  with  the  cour- 
age of  an  Indian  warrior. 

The  doom  of  the  Inca  was  proclaimed  by  sound  of  trumpet 
in  the  great  square  of  Caxamalca ; and,  two  hours  after  sunset, 
the  Spanish  soldiery  assembled  by  torchlight  in  the  plaza  to 
witness  the  execution  of  the  sentence.  It  was  on  the  twenty- 
ninth  of  August,  1533.  Atahuallpa  was  led  out  chained  hand 
and  foot — for  he  had  been  kept  in  irons  ever  since  the  great 
excitement  had  prevailed  in  the  army  respecting  an  assault. 
Father  Vicente  de  Valverde  was  at  his  side  striving  to  adminis- 
ter consolation,  and,  if  possible,  to  persuade  him  at  this  last 

28  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  5,  lib.  3,  cap. 

— Zarate,  Conq.  del  Peru,  lib.  2,  cap.  7. 

29  “ I myself,”  says  Pedro  Pizarro,  “ saw  the  general  weep.”  “ Yovide  llorar  al  mar- 
ques de  pesar  por  no  podelle  dar  la  vida  porque  cierto  temio  los  requirimientos  y el  rriesgo 
que  avia  en  la  tierra  si  se  soltava.”  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 


CHAP.  VII.] 


HIS  EXECUTION. 


349 


hour  to  abjure  his  superstition  and  embrace  the  religion  of  his 
Conquerors.  He  was  willing  to  save  the  soul  of  his  victim 
from  the  terrible  expiation  in  the  next  world  to  which  he  had 
so  cheerfully  consigned  his  mortal  part  in  this. 

During  Atahuallpa’s  confinement,  the  friar  had  repeatedly 
expounded  to  him  the  Christian  doctrines,  and  the  Indian 
monarch  discovered  much  acuteness  in  apprehending  the  dis- 
course of  his  teacher.  But  it  had  not  carried  conviction  to  his 
mind,  and,  though  he  listened  with  patience,  he  had  shown  no 
disposition  to  renounce  the  faith  of  his  fathers.  The  Domini- 
can made  a last  appeal  to  him  in  this  solemn  hour ; and,  when 
Atahuallpa  was  bound  to  the  stake,  with  the  fagots  that  were  to 
kindle  his  funeral  pile  lying  around  him,  Val verde,  holding  up 
the  cross,  besought  him  to  embrace  it  and  be  baptized,  prom- 
ising that  by  so  doing,  the  painful  death  to  which  he  had  been 
sentenced  should  be  commuted  for  the  milder  form  of  the  gar- 
rote — a mode  of  punishment  by  strangulation,  used  for  crim- 
inals in  Spain.30 

The  unhappy  monarch  asked  if  this  were  really  so,  and  on  its 
being  confirmed  by  Pizarro,  he  consented  to  abjure  his  own  re- 
ligion and  receive  baptism.  The  ceremony  was  performed  by 
Father  Valverde,  and  the  new  convert  received  the  name  of 
Juan  de  Atahuallpa — the  name  of  Juan  being  conferred  in 
honor  of  John  the  Baptist,  on  whose  day  the  event  took 
place.31 

Atahuallpa  expressed  a desire  that  his  remains  might  be  trans- 
ported to  Quito,  the  place  of  his  birth,  to  be  preserved  with 
those  of  his  maternal  ancestors.  Then,  turning  to  Pizarro,  as 
a last  request,  he  implored  him  to  take  compassion  on  his 
young  children  and  receive  them  under  his  protection.  Was 
there  no  other  one  in  that  dark  company  who  stood  grimly 

30  Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  234. — Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq., 
MS.— Conq.  i.  Pob.  del  Piru,  MS. — Ped.  Sancho,  Rel.,  ap.  Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  fol.  400. 
— The  garrote  is  a mode  of  execution  by  means  of  a noose  drawn  round  the  criminal’s  neck, 
to  the  back  part  of  which  a stick  is  attached.  By  twisting  this  stick  the  noose  is  tightened 
and  suffocation  is  produced.  This  was  the  mode,  probably,  of  Atahuallpa’s  execution. 
In  Spain,  instead  of  the  cord,  an  iron  collar  is  substituted,  which,  by  means  of  a screw,  is 
compressed  round  the  throat  of  the  sufferer. 

31  Velasco,  Hist,  de  Quito,  tom.  i.,  p.  372. 


350 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU . 


[book  in, 


around  him,  to  whom  he  could  look  for  the  protection  of  his 
offspring  ? Perhaps  he  thought  there  was  no  other  so  compe- 
tent to  afford  it,  and  that  the  wishes  so  solemnly  expressed  in 
that  hour  might  meet  with  respect  even  from  his  Conqueror. 
Then,  recovering  his  stoical  bearing,  which  for  a moment  had 
been  shaken,  he  submitted  himself  calmly  to  his  fate — while 
the  Spaniards,  gathering  around,  muttered  their  credos  for  the 
salvation  of  his  soul ! 32  Thus  by  the  death  of  a vile  malefac- 
tor perished  the  last  of  the  Incas  ! 

I have  already  spoken  of  the  person  and  the  qualities  of  Ata- 
huallpa.  He  had  a handsome  countenance,  though  with  an  ex- 
pression somewhat  too  fierce  to  be  pleasing.  His  frame  was 
muscular  and  well-proportioned ; his  air  commanding ; and 
his  deportment  in  the  Spanish  quarters  had  a degree  of  refine- 
ment, the  more  interesting  that  it  was  touched  with  melan- 
choly. He  is  accused  of  having  been  cruel  in  his  wars  and 
bloody  in  his  revenge.33  It  may  be  true,  but  the  pencil  of  an 
enemy  would  be  likely  to  overcharge  the  shadows  of  the  por- 
trait. He  is  allowed  to  have  been  bold,  high-minded,  and 
liberal.34  All  agree  that  he  showed  singular  penetration  and 

82  “ Ma  quando  se  lo  vidde  appressare  per  douer  esser  morto,  disse  che  raccomandaua 
al  Gouernatore  i suoi  piccioli  figliuoli  che  volesse  tenersegli  appresso,  & con  queste  ultirae 
parole,  & dicendo  per  1’anima  sua  li  Spagnuoli  che  erano  all’  intorno  il  Credo,  fu  subito 
affogato.”  Ped.  Sancho,  Rel.,  ap.  Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  fol.  399. — Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru, 
ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  234. — Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Naharro,  Relacion 
sumaria,  MS. — Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS. —Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. — Zarate, 
Conq.  del  Peru,  lib.  2,  cap.  7. — The  death  of  Atahuallpa  has  many  points  of  resemblance  to 
that  of  Caupolican,  the  great  Araucanian  chief,  as  described  in  the  historical  epic  of  Er- 
cilla.  Both  embraced  the  religion  of  their  conquerors  at  the  stake,  though  Caupolican  was 
so  far  less  fortunate  than  the  Peruvian  monarch  that  his  conversion  did  not  save  him  from 
the  tortures  of  a most  agonizing  death.  He  was  impaled  and  shot  with*  arrows.  The 
spirited  verses  reflect  so  faithfully  the  character  of  these  early  adventurers,  in  which  the 
fanaticism  of  the  Crusader  was  mingled  with  the  cruelty  of  the  conqueror,  and  they  are  so 
germane  to  the  present  subject,  that  I would  willingly  quote  the  passage,  were  it  not  too 
long.  See  La  Araucana,  Parte  2,  canto  24. 

33  “Thus  he  paid  the  penalty  of  his  errors  and  cruelties,”  says  Xerez,  “for  he  was  the 
greatest  butcher,  as  all  agree,  that  the  world  ever  saw  ; making  nothing  of  razing  a whole 
town  to  the  ground  for  the  most  trifling  offence,  and  massacring  a thousand  persons  for  the 
fault  of  one  ! ” (Conq.  del  Peru,  ap.  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  234.)  Xerez  was  the  private  sec- 
retary of  Pizarro.  Sancho,  who,  on  the  departure  of  Xerez  for  Spain,  succeeded  him  in 
the  same  office,  pays  a more  decent  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  Inca,  who,  he  trusts,  “ is 
received  into  glory,  since  he  died  penitent  for  his  sins,  and  in  the  true  faith  of  a Christian.” 
Ped.  Sancho,  Rel.,  ap.  Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  fol.  399. 

34  “El  hera  muy  regalado,  y muy  Senor,”  says  Pedro  Pizarro.  (Descub.  y Conq.,  MS.) 
“Mui  dispuesto,  sabio,  animoso,  franco,”  says  Gomara.  (Hist,  de  las  lnd.,  cap.  n8.) 


CHAP.  VII.] 


HIS  EXECUTION. 


351 


quickness  of  perception.  His  exploits  as  a warrior  had  placed 
his  valor  beyond  dispute.  The  best  homage  to  it  is  the  reluc- 
tance shown  by  the  Spaniards  to  restore  him  to  freedom.  They 
dreaded  him  as  an  enemy,  and  they  had  done  him  too  many 
wrongs  to  think  that  he  could  be  their  friend.  Yet  his  con- 
duct toward  them  from  the  first  had  been  most  friendly ; and 
they  repaid  it  with  imprisonment,  robbery,  and  death. 

The  body  of  the  Inca  remained  on  the  place  of  execution 
through  the  night.  The  following  morning  it  was  removed  to 
the  church  of  San  Francisco,  where  his  funeral  obsequies  were 
performed  with  great  solemnity.  Pizarro  and  the  principal 
cavaliers  went  into  mourning,  and  the  troops  listened  with 
devout  attention  to  the  service  of  the  dead  from  the  lips  of 
Father  Valverde.35  The  ceremony  was  interrupted  by  the 
sound  of  loud  cries  and  wailing,  as  of  many  voices  at  the  doors 
of  the  church.  These  were  suddenly  thrown  open,  and  a num- 
ber of  Indian  women,  the  wives  and  sisters  of  the  deceased, 
rushing  up  the  great  aisle,  surrounded  the  corpse.  This  was 
not  the  way,  they  cried,  to  celebrate  the  funeral  rites  of  an 
Inca ; and  they  declared  their  intention  to  sacrifice  themselves 
on  his  tomb  and  bear  him  company  to  the  land  of  spirits.  The 
audience,  outraged  by  this  frantic  behavior,  told  the  intruders 
that  Atahuallpa  had  died  in  the  faith  of  a Christian,  and  that 
the  God  of  the  Christians  abhorred  such  sacrifices.  They  then 
caused  the  women  to  be  excluded  from  the  church,  and  several, 
retiring  to  their  own  quarters,  laid  violent  hands  on  themselves, 
in  the  vain  hope  of  accompanying  their  beloved  lord  to  the 
bright  mansions  of  the  Sun.36 

Atahuallpa’s  remains,  notwithstanding  his  request,  were  laid 
in  the  cemetery  of  San  Francisco.37  But  from  thence,  as  is 

36  The  secretary  Sancho  seems  to  think  that  the  Peruvians  must  have  regarded  these 
funeral  honors  as  an  ample  compensation  to  Atahuallpa  for  any  wrongs  he  may  have  sus- 
tained, since  they  at  once  raised  him  to  a level  with  the  Spaniards  ! Ibid.,  loc.  cit. 

36  Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS.  See  Appendix  No.  io,  where  I have  cited  in  the 
original  several  of  the  contemporary  notices  of  Atahuallpa’ s execution,  which  being  in 
manuscript  are  not  very  accessible,  even  to  Spaniards. 

37  “ Oi  dicen  los  indios  que  esta  su  sepulcro  junto  & una  Cruz  de  Piedra  Blanca  que 
esta  en  el  Cementerio  del  Convento  de  San  Francisco.”  Montesinos,  Annales,  MS.r  ano 
*533* 


352 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


reported,  after  the  Spaniards  left  Caxamalca,  they  were  secretly 
removed,  and  carried,  as  he  had  desired,  to  Quito.  The  colo- 
nists of  a later  time  supposed  that  some  treasures  might  have 
been  buried  with  the  body.  But,  on  excavating  the  ground, 
neither  treasure  nor  remains  were  to  be  discovered.38 

A day  or  two  after  these  tragic  events,  Hernando  de  Soto 
returned  from  his  excursion.  Great  was  his  astonishment  and 
indignation  at  learning  what  had  been  done  in  his  absence. 
He  sought  out  Pizarro  at  once,  and  found  him,  says  the  chron- 
icler, “with  a great  felt  hat,  by  way  of  mourning,  slouched 
over  his  eyes/’  and  in  his  dress  and  demeanor  exhibiting  all 
the  show  of  sorrow.39  “ You  have  acted  rashly,”  said  De  Soto 
to  him,  bluntly;  “ Atahuallpa  has  been  basely  slandered. 
There  was  no  enemy  at  Huamachuco  ; no  rising  among  the  na- 
tives. I have  met  with  nothing  on  the  road  but  demonstra- 
tions of  good  will,  and  all  is  quiet.  If  it  was  necessary  to  bring 
the  Inca  to  trial,  he  should  have  been  taken  to  Castile  and 
judged  by  the  emperor.  I would  have  pledged  myself  to 
see  him  safe  on  board  the  vessel.”  40  Pizarro  confessed  that  he 
had  been  precipitate,  and  said  that  he  had  been  deceived 
by  Riquelme,  Valverde,  and  the  others.  These  charges  soon 
reached  the  ears  of  the  treasurer  and  the  Dominican,  who, 
in  their  turn,  exculpated  themselves,  and  upbraided  Pizarro  to 
his  face,  as  the  only  one  responsible  for  the  deed.  The  dis- 
pute ran  high ; and  the  parties  were  heard  by  the  bystanders 
to  give  one  another  the  lie  ! 41  This  vulgar  squabble  among 

38  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  22. — According  to  Stevenson, 
“ In  the  chapel  belonging  to  the  common  gaol,  which  was  formerly  part  of  the  palace,  the 
altar  stands  on  the  stone  on  which  Atahuallpa  was  placed  by  the  Spaniards  and  strangled, 
and  under  which  he  was  buried.”  (Residence  in  South  America,  vol.  ii.,  p.  163.)  Monte- 
sinos,  who  wrote  more  than  a century  after  the  Conquest,  tells  us  that  “ spots  of  blood 
were  still  visible  on  a broad  flagstone,  in  the  prison  of  Caxamalca,  on  which  Atahuallpa 
was  beheaded."  (Annales,  MS.,  ano  1533.) — Ignorance  and  credulity  could  scarcely  go 
further. 

39  “ Hallaronle  monstrando  mucho  sentimiento  con  un  gran  sombrero  de  fieltro  puesto 
en  la  cabeza  por  luto  6 muy  calado  sobre  los  ojos.”  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS., 
Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  22. 

49  Ibid.,  MS.,  ubi  supra. — Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — See  Appendix  No, 
10. 

41  This  remarkable  account  is  given  by  Oviedo,  not  in  the  body  of  his  narrative,  but  in 
one  of  those  supplementary  chapters  which  he  makes  the  vehicle  of  the  most  miscellaneous, 
yet  oftentimes  important,  gossip,  respecting  the  great  transactions  of  his  history.  As  he 


CHAP.  VII.] 


HIS  EXECUTION. 


353 


the  leaders,  so  soon  after  the  event,  is  the  best  commentary  on 
the  iniquity  of  their  own  proceedings  and  the  innocence  of  the 
Inca. 

The  treatment  of  Atahuallpa,  from  first  to  last,  forms  undoubt- 
edly one  of  the  darkest  chapters  in  Spanish  colonial  history. 
There  may  have  been  massacres  perpetrated  on  a more  extended 
scale,  and  executions  accompanied  with  a greater  refinement  of 
cruelty.  But  the  blood-stained  annals  of  the  Conquest  afford 
no  such  example  of  cold-hearted  and  systematic  persecution, 
not  of  an  enemy,  but  of  one  whose  whole  deportment  had  been 
that  of  a friend  and  a benefactor. 

From  the  hour  that  Pizarro  and  his  followers  had  entered 
within  the  sphere  of  Atahuallpa’ s influence,  the  hand  of  friend- 
ship had  been  extended  to  them  by  the  natives.  Their  first 
act,  on  crossing  the  mountains,  was  to  kidnap  the  monarch 
and  massacre  his  people.  The  seizure  of  his  person  might  be 
vindicated,  by  those  who  considered  the  end  as  justifying  the 
means,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  indispensable  to  secure  the 
triumphs  of  the  Cross.  But  no  such  apology  can  be  urged  for 
the  massacre  of  the  unarmed  and  helpless  population — as  wan- 
ton as  it  was  wicked. 

The  long  confinement  of  the  Inca  had  been  used  by  the 
Conquerors  to  wring  from  him  his  treasures  with  the  hard 
gripe  of  avarice.  During  the  whole  of  this  dismal  period  he 
had  conducted  himself  with  singular  generosity  and  good  faith. 
He  had  opened  a free  passage  to  the  Spaniards  through  every 
part  of  his  empire,  and  had  furnished  every  facility  for  the  exe- 
cution of  their  plans.  When  these  were  accomplished,  and  he 
remained  an  encumbrance  on  their  hands,  notwithstanding 
their  engagement,  expressed  or  implied,  to  release  him — and 
Pizarro,  as  we  have  seen,  by  a formal  act  acquitted  his  captive 
of  any  further  obligation  on  the  score  of  the  ransom — he  was 
arraigned  before  a mock  tribunal,  and,  under  pretences  equally 
false  and  frivolous,  was  condemned  to  an  excruciating  death. 


knew  familiarly  the  leaders  in  these  transactions,  the  testimony  which  he  collected,  somewhat 
at  random,  is  of  high  authority.  The  reader  will  find  Oviedo’s  account  of  the  Inca’s  death 
extracted,  in  the  original,  among  the  other  notices  of  this  catastrophe,  in  Appendix  No. 


354 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU 


[BOOK  III, 


From  first  to  last,  the  policy  of  the  Spanish  conquerors  toward 
their  unhappy  victim  is  stamped  with  barbarity  and  fraud. 

It  is  not  easy  to  acquit  Pizarro  of  being  in  a great  degree 
responsible  for  this  policy.  His  partisans  have  labored  to  show 
that  it  was  forced  on  him  by  the  necessity  of  the  case,  and 
that  in  the  death  of  the  Inca,  especially,  he  yielded  reluctantly 
to  the  importunities  of  others.42  But,  weak  as  is  this  apology, 
the  historian  who  has  the  means  of  comparing  the  various  tes- 
timony of  the  period  will  come  to  a different  conclusion.  To 
him  it  will  appear  that  Pizarro  had  probably  long  felt  the  re- 
moval of  Atahuallpa  to  be  essential  to  the  success  of  his  enter- 
prise. He  foresaw  the  odium  that  would  be  incurred  by  the 
death  of  his  royal  captive  without  sufficient  grounds  ; while  he 
labored  to  establish  these,  he  still  shrank  from  the  responsibil- 
ity of  the  deed,  and  preferred  to  perpetrate  it  in  obedience  to 
the  suggestions  of  others,  rather  than  his  own.  Like  many  an 
unprincipled  politician,  he  wished  to  reap  the  benefit  of  a bad 
act,  and  let  others  bear  the  blame  of  it. 

Almagro  and  his  followers  are  reported  by  Pizarro’s  secre- 
taries to  have  first  insisted  on  the  Inca’s  death.  They  were 
loudly  supported  by  the  treasurer  and  the  royal  officers,  who 
considered  it  as  indispensable  to  the  interests  of  the  crown ; 
and,  finally,  the  rumors  of  a conspiracy  raised  the  same  cry 
among  the  soldiers,  and  Pizarro,  with  all  his  tenderness  for 
his  prisoner,  could  not  refuse  to  bring  him  to  trial.  The  form 
of  a trial  was  necessary  to  give  an  appearance  of  fairness  to  the 
proceedings.  That  it  was  only  form  is  evident  from  the  in- 
decent haste  with  which  it  was  conducted — the  examination  of 
evidence,  the  sentence,  and  the  execution  being  all  on  the 
same  day.  The  multiplication  of  the  charges,  designed  to 
place  the  guilt  of  the  accused  on  the  strongest  ground,  had, 
from  their  very  number,  the  opposite  effect,  proving  only  the 


42  “ Contra  su  voluntad  sentencio  d muerte  4 Atabalipa.”  (Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y 
Conq.,  MS.)  “ Contra  voluntad  del  dicho  Gobernador.”  (Relacion  del  primer  Descub., 
MS.)  “ Ancora  che  molto  li  dispiacesse  di  venir  d questo  atto.”  (Ped.  Sancho,  Rel.,  ap. 
Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  fol.  399.)  Even  Oviedo  seems  willing  to  admit  it  possible  that  Pizarro 
may  have  been  somewhat  deceived  by  others  : “ Que  tambien  se  puede  creer  que  era  en 
gafiado.”  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  zz. 


CHAP.  VII.] 


REFLECTIONS. 


355 


determination  to  convict  him.  If  Pizarro  had  felt  the  reluc- 
tance to  his  conviction  which  he  pretended,  why  did  he  send 
De  Soto,  Atahuallpa’s  best  friend,  away,  when  the  inquiry  was 
to  be  instituted  ? Why  was  the  sentence  so  summarily  exe- 
cuted as  not  to  afford  opportunity,  by  that  cavalier’s  return, 
of  disproving  the  truth  of  the  principal  charge — the  only  one, 
in  fact,  with  which  the  Spaniards  had  any  concern  ? The 
solemn  farce  of  mourning  and  deep  sorrow  affected  by  Pizarro, 
who  by  these  honors  to  the  dead  would  intimate  the  sincere 
regard  he  had  entertained  for  the  living,  was  too  thin  a veil  to 
impose  on  the  most  credulous. 

It  is  not  intended  by  these  reflections  to  exculpate  the  rest 
of  the  army,  and  especially  its  officers,  from  their  share  in  the 
infamy  of  the  transaction.  But  Pizarro,  as  commander  of 
the  army,  was  mainly  responsible  for  its  measures.  For  he 
was  not  a man  to  allow  his  own  authority  to  be  wrested  from 
his  grasp,  or  to  yield  timidly  to  the  impulses  of  others.  He 
did  not  even  yield  to  his  own.  His  whole  career  shows  him, 
whether  for  good  or  for  evil,  to  have  acted  with  a cool  and 
calculating  policy. 

A story  has  been  often  repeated,  which  refers  the  motives  of 
Pizarro’s  conduct,  in  some  degree  at  least,  to  personal  resent- 
ment. The  Inca  had  requested  one  of  the  Spanish  soldiers  to 
write  the  name  of  God  on  his  nail.  This  the  monarch  showed 
to  several  of  his  guards  successively,  and,  as  they  read  it,  and 
each  pronounced  the  same  word,  the  sagacious  mind  of  the 
barbarian  was  delighted  with  what  seemed  to  him  little  short 
of  a miracle — to  which  the  science  of  his  own  nation  afforded 
no  analogy.  On  showing  the  writing  to  Pizarro,  that  chief 
remained  silent ; and  the  Inca,  finding  he  could  not  read,  con- 
ceived a contempt  for  the  commander  who  was  even  less  in- 
formed than  his  soldiers.  This  he  did  not  wholly  conceal, 
and  Pizarro,  aware  of  the  cause  of  it,  neither  forgot  nor  forgave 
it.43  The  anecdote  is  reported  not  on  the  highest  authority. 
It  may  be  true  ; but  it  is  unnecessary  to  look  for  the  motives 

43  The  story  is  to  be  found  in  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega  (Com.  Real.,  Parte  2,  cap.  38),  and 
in  no  other  writer  of  the  period,  so  far  as  I am  aware. 


356 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III, 


of  Pizarro’s  conduct  in  personal  pique,  when  so  many  proofs 
are  to  be  discerned  of  a dark  and  deliberate  policy. 

Yet  the  arts  of  the  Spanish  chieftain  failed  to  reconcile  his 
countrymen  to  the  atrocity  of  his  proceedings.  It  is  singular 
to  observe  the  difference  between  the  tone  assumed  by  the 
first  chroniclers  of  the  transaction,  while  it  was  yet  fresh,  and 
that  of  those  who  wrote  when  the  lapse  of  a few  years  had 
shown  the  tendency  of  public  opinion.  The  first  boldly  avow 
the  deed  as  demanded  by  expediency,  if  not  necessity  ; while 
they  deal  in  no  measured  terms  of  reproach  with  the  charac- 
ter of  their  unfortunate  victim.44  The  latter,  on  the  other 
hand,  while  they  extenuate  the  errors  of  the  Inca,  and  do  jus- 
tice to  his  good  faith,  are  unreserved  in  their  condemnation  of 
the  Conquerors,  on  whose  conduct,  they  say,  Heaven  set  the 
seal  of  its  own  reprobation,  by  bringing  them  all  to  an  un- 
timely and  miserable  end.45  The  sentence  of  contemporaries 
has  been  fully  ratified  by  that  of  posterity ; 46  and  the  persecu- 
tion of  Atahuallpa  is  regarded  with  justice  as  having  left  a 
stain,  never  to  be  effaced,  on  the  Spanish  arms  in  the  New 
World. 

44  I have  already  noticed  the  lavish  epithets  heaped  by  Xerez  on  the  Inca’s  cruelty. 
This  account  was  printed  in  Spain  in  1534,  the  year  after  the  execution.  “The  proud 
tyrant,”  says  the  other  secretary,  Sancho,  “ would  have  repaid  the  kindness  and  good 
treatment  he  had  received  from  the  governor  and  everyone  of  us  with  the  same  coin  with 
which  he  usually  paid  his  own  followers,  without  any  fault  on  their  part — by  putting  them 
to  death.”  (Ped.  Sancho,  Rel.,  ap.  Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  fol.  399.)  “He  deserved  to  die,’’ 
says  the  old  Spanish  Conqueror  before  quoted,  “and  all  the  country  was  rejoiced  that  he 
was  put  out  of  the  way.”  Rel.  d’un  Capitano  Spagn.,  ap.  Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  fol.  377. 

46  “ Las  demostraciones  que  despues  se  vieron  bien  manifiestan  lo  mui  injusta  que  fue, 

. . . puesto  que  todos  quantos  entendieron  en  ella  tuvieron  despues  mui  desastradas 

muertes.”  (Naharro,  Relacion  sumaria,  MS.)  Gomara  uses  nearly  the  same  language. 
“No  ai  que  reprehender  d los  que  le  mataron,  pues  el  tiempo,  i sus  pecados  los  castigaron 
despues;  cd  todos  ellos  acabaron  mal.”  (Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  cap.  xi8.)  According  to  the 
former  writer,  Felipillo  paid  the  forfeit  of  his  crimes,  some  time  afterward — being  hanged 
by  Almagro  on  the  expedition  to  Chili — when,  as  “ some  say,  he  confessed  having  per- 
verted testimony  given  in  favor  of  Atahuallpa’ s innocence,  directly  against  that  monarch.” 
Oviedo,  usually  ready  enough  to  excuse  the  excesses  of  his  countrymen,  is  unqualified  in 
his  condemnation  of  this  whole  proceeding  (see  Appendix  No.  10),  which,  says  another 
contemporary,  “ fills  everyone  with  pity  who  has  a spark  of  humanity  in  his  bosom.” 
Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS. 

48  The  most  eminent  example  of  this  is  given  by  Quintana  in  his  memoir  of  Pizarro 
(Espanoles  celebres,  tom.  ii.),  throughout  which  the  writer,  rising  above  the  mists  of  na- 
tional prejudice,  which  too  often  blind  the  eyes  of  his  countrymen,  holds  the  scale  of  his- 
toric criticism  with  an  impartial  hand,  and  deals  a full  measure  of  reprobation  to  the  actors 
in  these  dismal  scenes. 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


DISORDERS  IN  PERU. 


35  7 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Disorders  in  Peru. — March  to  Cuzco. — Encounter  with  the  Natives. — 
Challcuchima  Burnt. — Arrival  in  Cuzco. — Description  of  the  City. — 
Treasure  Found  there. 


1533-1534- 

The  Inca  of  Peru  was  its  sovereign  in  a peculiar  sense.  He 
received  an  obedience  from  his  vassals  more  implicit  than 
that  of  any  despot ; for  his  authority  reached  to  the  most 
secret  conduct — to  the  thoughts  of  the  individual.  He  was 
reverenced  as  more  than  human.1  He  was  not  merely  the 
head  of  the  state,  but  the  point  to  which  all  its  institutions 
converged,  as  to  a common  centre — the  keystone  of  the  po- 
litical fabric,  which  must  fall  to  pieces  by  its  own  weight 
when  that  was  withdrawn.  So  it  fared  on  the  death  of  Atahu- 
allpa.2  His  death  not  only  left  the  throne  vacant,  without 
any  certain  successor,  but  the  manner  of  it  announced  to  the 
Peruvian  people  that  a hand  stronger  than  that  of  their  Incas 
had  now  seized  the  sceptre,  and  that  the  dynasty  of  the  Chil- 
dren of  the  Sun  had  passed  away  forever. 

The  natural  consequences  of  such  a conviction  followed. 
The  beautiful  order  of  the  ancient  institutions  was  broken  up, 
as  the  authority  which  controlled  it  was  withdrawn.  The  In- 
dians broke  out  into  greater  excesses  from  the  uncommon  re- 
straint to  which  they  had  been  before  subjected.  Villages 

1 “ Such  was  the  awe  in  which  the  Inca  was  held,”  says  Pedro  Pizarro,  “ that  it  was 
only  necessary  for  him  to  intimate  his  commands  to  that  effect,  and  a Peruvian  would  at 
once  jump  down  a precipice,  hang  himself,  or  put  an  end  to  his  life  in  any  way  that  was 
prescribed.”  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 

2 Oviedo  tells  us  that  the  Inca’s  right  name  was  Atabaliva,  and  that  the  Spaniards 
usually  misspelt  it,  because  they  thought  much  more  of  getting  treasure  for  themselves 
than  they  did  of  the  name  of  the  person  who  owned  it.  (Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte 
3,  lib.  8,  cap.  16.)  Nevertheless,  I have  preferred  the  authority  of  Garcilasso,  who,  a 
Peruvian  himself,  and  a near  kinsman  of  the  Inca,  must  be  supposed  to  have  been  well 
informed.  His  countrymen,  he  says,  pretended  that  the  cocks  imported  into  Peru  by  the 
Spaniards,  when  they  crowed,  uttered  the  name  of  Atahuallpa  ; “ and  I and  the  other 
Indian  boys,”  adds  the  historian,  “ when  we  were  at  school,  used  to  mimic  them.”  Com. 
Real.,  Parte  1,  lib.  9,  cap.  23. 


358 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


tBOOK  III, 


were  burnt,  temples  and  palaces  were  plundered,  and  the  gold 
they  contained  was  scattered  or  secreted.  Gold  and  silver 
acquired  an  importance  in  the  eyes  of  the  Peruvian,  when  he 
saw  the  importance  attached  to  them  by  his  conquerors.  The 
precious  metals,  which  before  served  only  for  purposes  of  state 
or  religious  decoration,  were  now  hoarded  up  and  buried  in 
caves  and  forests.  The  gold  and  silver  concealed  by  the 
natives  were  affirmed  greatly  to  exceed  in  quantity  that  which 
fell  into  ‘the  hands  of  the  Spaniards.3  The  remote  provinces 
now  shook  off  their  allegiance  to  the  Incas.  Their  great  cap- 
tains, at  the  head  of  distant  armies,  set  up  for  themselves. 
Ruminavi,  a commander  on  the  borders  of  Quito,  sought  to 
detach  that  kingdom  from  the  Peruvian  empire  and  to  reassert 
its  ancient  independence.  The  country,  in  short,  was  in  that 
state  in  which  old  things  are  passing  away  and  the  new  order 
of  things  has  not  yet  been  established.  It  was  in  a state  of 
revolution. 

The  authors  of  the  revolution,  Pizarro  and  his  followers,  re- 
mained meanwhile  at  Caxamalca.  But  the  first  step  of  the 
Spanish  commander  was  to  name  a successor  to  Atahuallpa. 
It  would  be  easy  to  govern  under  the  venerated  authority  to 
which  the  homage  of  the  Indians  had  been  so  long  paid ; and 
it  was  not  difficult  to  find  a successor.  The  true  heir  to  the 
crown  was  a second  son  of  Huayna  Capac,  named  Manco,  a 
legitimate  brother  of  the  unfortunate  Huascar.  But  Pizarro 
had  too  little  knowledge  of  the  dispositions  of  this  prince ; and 
he  made  no  scruple  to  prefer  a brother  of  Atahuallpa,  and  to 
present  him  to  the  Indian  nobles  as  their  future  Inca.  We 
know  nothing  of  the  character  of  the  young  Toparca,  who 
probably  resigned  himself  without  reluctance  to  a destiny 
which,  however  humiliating  in  some  points  of  view,  was  more 
exalted  than  he  could  have  hoped  to  obtain  in  the  regular 
course  of  events.  The  ceremonies  attending  a Peruvian  coro- 
nation were  observed,  as  well  as  time  would  allow ; the  brows 

3 “ That  which  the  Inca  gave  the  Spaniards,  said  some  of  the  Indian  nobles  to  Benal- 
cazar,  the  conqueror  of  Quito,  was  but  as  a kernel  of  com,  compared  with  the  heap  before 
him.”  (Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  MS.,  Parte  3,  lib.  8,  cap.  22.)  See  also  Pedro 
Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


MARCH  TO  CUZCO . 


359 


of  the  young  Inca  were  encircled  with  the  imperial  borla  by 
the  hands  of  his  conqueror,  and  he  received  the  homage  of 
his  Indian  vassals.  They  were  the  less  reluctant  to  pay 
it,  as  most  of  those  in  the  camp  belonged  to  the  faction  of 
Quito. 

All  thoughts  were  now  eagerly  turned  toward  Cuzco,  of 
which  the  most  glowing  accounts  were  circulated  among  the 
soldiers,  and  whose  temples  and  royal  palaces  were  represented 
as  blazing  with  gold  and  silver.  With  imaginations  thus  ex- 
cited, Pizarro  and  his  entire  company,  amounting  to  almost 
five  hundred  men,  of  whom  nearly  a third,  probably,  were 
cavalry,  took  their  departure  early  in  September  from  Caxa- 
malca — a place  ever  memorable  as  the  theatre  of  some  of  the 
most  strange  and  sanguinary  scenes  recorded  in  history.  All 
set  forward  in  high  spirits — the  soldiers  of  Pizarro  from  the 
expectation  of  doubling  their  present  riches,  and  Almagro’s 
followers  from  the  prospect  of  sharing  equally  in  the  spoil  with 
“the  first  conquerors.”  4 The  young  Inca  and  the  old  chief 
Challcuchima  accompanied  the  march  in  their  litters,  attended 
by  a numerous  retinue  of  vassals,  and  moving  in  as  much  state 
and  ceremony  as  if  in  the  possession  of  real  power.5 

Their  course  lay  along  the  great  road  of  the  Incas,  which 
stretched  across  the  elevated  regions  of  the  Cordilleras,  all  the 
way  to  Cuzco.  It  was  of  nearly  a uniform  breadth,  though 
constructed  with  different  degrees  of  care,  according  to  the 
ground. 6 Sometimes  it  crossed  smooth  and  level  valleys, 
which  offered  of  themselves  little  impediment  to  the  traveller ; 
at  other  times  it  followed  the  course  of  a mountain-stream 
that  flowed  round  the  base  of  some  beetling  cliff,  leaving  small 
space  for  the  foothold ; at  others,  again,  where  the  sierra  was 
so  precipitous  that  it  seemed  to  preclude  all  farther  progress, 
the  road,  accommodated  to  the  natural  sinuosities  of  the 

4 The  “ first  conquerors,”  according  to  Garcilasso,  were  held  in  especial  honor  by  those 
who  came  after  them,  though  they  were,  on  the  whole,  men  of  less  consideration  and  fort- 
une than  the  later  adventurers.  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  7,  cap.  9. 

5 Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS.— Naharro,  Relacion  sumaria,  MS. — Ped.  San- 
cho,  Rel.,  ap.  Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  fol.  400. 

6 “Va  todo  el  cammo  de  una  traza  y anchura  hecho  & mano.”  Relacion  del  primer 
Descub.,  MS. 


360  CONQUEST  OF  PERU.  [book  iii 

ground,  wound  round  the  heights  which  it  would  have  been 
impossible  to  scale  directly.7 

But,  although  managed  with  great  address,  it  was  a formida- 
ble passage  for  the  cavalry.  The  mountain  was  hewn  into 
steps,  but  the  rocky  ledges  cut  up  the  hoofs  of  the  horses ; and, 
though  the  troopers  dismounted  and  led  them  by  the  bridle, 
they  suffered  severely  in  their  efforts  to  keep  their  footing.8 
The  road  was  constructed  for  man  and  the  light-footed  llama ; 
and  the  only  heavy  beast  of  burden  at  all  suited  to  it  was  the 
sagacious  and  sure-footed  mule,  with  which  the  Spanish  ad- 
venturers were  not  then  provided.  It  was  a singular  chance 
that  Spain  was  the  land  of  the  mule ; and  thus  the  country  was 
speedily  supplied  with  the  very  animal  which  seems  to  have 
been  created  for  the  difficult  passes  of  the  Cordilleras. 

Another  obstacle,  often  occurring,  was  the  deep  torrents  that 
rushed  down  in  fury  from  the  Andes.  They  were  traversed  by 
the  hanging  bridges  of  osier,  whose  frail  materials  were  after  a 
time  broken  up  by  the  heavy  tread  of  the  cavalry,  and  the 
holes  made  in  them  added  materially  to  the  dangers  of  the 
passage.  On  such  occasions  the  Spaniards  contrived  to  work 
their  way  across  the  rivers  on  rafts,  swimming  their  horses  by 
the  bridle.9 

All  along  the  route  they  found  post-houses  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  the  royal  couriers,  established  at  regular  intervals  ; 
and  magazines  of  grain  and  other  commodities,  provided  in 
the  principal  towns  for  the  Indian  armies.  The  Spaniards: 
profited  by  the  prudent  forecast  of  the  Peruvian  Government. 

Passing  through  several  hamlets  and  towns  of  some  note,  the 
principal  of  which  were  Huamachuco  and  Huanuco,  Pizarro, 
after  a tedious  march,  came  in  sight  of  the  rich  valley  of 
Xauxa.  The  march,  though  tedious,  had  been  attended  with 
little  suffering,  except  in  crossing  the  bristling  crests  of  the 
Cordilleras,  which  occasionally  obstructed  their  path — a rough 
setting  to  the  beautiful  valleys  that  lay  scattered  like  gems 

7 “ En  muchas  partes  viendo  lo  que  estd  adelante,  parece  cosa  impossible  poderlo 
pasar.”  Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. 

8 Ped.  Sancho,  Rel.,  ap.  Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  fol.  404. 

® Ibid.,  ubi  supra.— Relaoion  del  Primer  Descub.,  MS. 


CHAP.  VIII.  J 


MARCH  TO  CUZCO. 


361 


along  this  elevated  region.  In  the  mountain-passes  they 
found  some  inconvenience  from  the  cold ; since,  to  move 
more  quickly,  they  had  disencumbered  themselves  of  all  super- 
fluous baggage,  and  were  even  unprovided  with  tents.10  The 
bleak  winds  of  the  mountains  penetrated  the  thick  harness  of 
the  soldiers ; but  the  poor  Indians,  more  scantily  clothed,  and 
accustomed  to  a tropical  climate,  suffered  most  severely.  The 
Spaniard  seemed  to  have  a hardihood  of  body,  as  of  soul,  that 
rendered  him  almost  indifferent  to  climate. 

On  the  march  they  had  not  been  molested  by  enemies.  But 
more  than  once  they  had  seen  vestiges  of  them  in  smoking 
hamlets  and  ruined  bridges.  Reports,  from  time  to  time,  had 
reached  Pizarro  of  warriors  on  his  track ; and  small  bodies  of 
Indians  were  occasionally  seen,  like  dusky  clouds  on  the  verge 
of  the  horizon,  which  vanished  as  the  Spaniards  approached. 
On  reaching  Xauxa,  however,  these  clouds  gathered  into  one 
dark  mass  of  warriors,  which  formed  on  the  opposite  bank  of 
the  river  that  flowed  through  the  valley. 

The  Spaniards  advanced  to  the  stream,  which,  swollen  by 
the  melting  of  the  snows,  was  now  of  considerable  width, 
though  not  deep.  The  bridge  had  been  destroyed  ; but  the 
Conquerors,  without  hesitation,  dashing  boldly  in,  advanced, 
swimming  and  wading,  as  they  best  could,  to  the  opposite 
bank.  The  Indians,  disconcerted  by  this  decided  movement, 
as  they  had  relied  on  their  watery  defences,  took  to  flight, 
after  letting  off  an  impotent  volley  of  missiles.  Fear  gave 
wings  to  the  fugitives  ; but  the  horse  and  his  rider  were  swifter, 
and  the  victorious  pursuers  took  bloody  vengeance  on  their 
enemy  for  having  dared  even  to  meditate  resistance. 

Xauxa  was  a considerable  town.  It  was  the  place  already 
noticed  as  having  been  visited  by  Hernando  Pizarro.  It  was 
seated  in  the  midst  of  a verdant  valley,  fertilized  by  a thousand 
little  rills,  which  the  thrifty  Indian  husbandmen  drew  from 
the  parent  river  that  rolled  sluggishly  through  the  meadows. 

10  “ La  notte  dormirono  tutti  in  quella  campagna  senza  coperto  alcuno,  sopra  la  neue, 
ne  pur  hebber  souuenimento  di  legne  ne  da  mangiare.”  Ped.  Sancho,  Rel.,  ap.  Ramusio, 
Com.  iii.,  fol.  401. 


3<52 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


There  were  several  capacious  buildings  of  rough  stone  in  the 
town,  and  a temple  of  some  note  in  the  times  of  the  Incas. 
But  the  strong  arm  of  Father  Valverde  and  his  countrymen 
soon  tumbled  the  heathen  deities  from  their  pride  of  place, 
and  established,  in  their  stead,  the  sacred  effigies  of  the  Virgin 
and  Child. 

Here  Pizarro  proposed  to  halt  for  some  days,  and  to  found  a 
Spanish  colony.  It  was  a favorable  position,  he  thought,  for 
holding  the  Indian  mountaineers  in  check,  while  at  the  same 
time  it  afforded  an  easy  communication  with  the  sea-coast. 
Meanwhile  he  determined  to  send  forward  De  Soto,  with  a de- 
tachment of  sixty  horse,  to  reconnoitre  the  country  in  advance, 
and  to  restore  the  bridges  where  demolished  by  the  enemy.11 

That  active  cavalier  set  forward  at  once,  but  found  consider- 
able impediments  to  his  progress.  The  traces  of  an  enemy  be- 
came more  frequent  as  he  advanced.  The  villages  were  burnt, 
the  bridges  destroyed,  and  heavy  rocks  and  trees  strewed  in 
the  path  to  impede  the  march  of  the  cavalry.  As  he  drew  near 
to  Bilcas,  once  an  important  place,  though  now  effaced  from  the 
map,  he  had  a sharp  encounter  with  the  natives,  in  a mountain- 
defile,  which  cost  him  the  lives  of  two  or  three  troopers.  The 
loss  was  light ; but  any  loss  was  felt  by  the  Spaniards,  so  little 
accustomed  as  they  had  been  of  late  to  resistance.  , 

Still  pressing  forward,  the  Spanish  captain  crossed  the  river 
Abancay  and  the  broad  waters  of  the  Apurimac ; and,  as  he 
drew  near  the  sierra  of  Vilcaconga,  he  learned  that  a consider- 
able body  of  Indians  lay  in  wait  for  him  in  the  dangerous 
passes  of  the  mountains.  The  sierra  was  several  leagues  from 
Cuzco  ; and  the  cavalier,  desirous  to  reach  the  farther  side  of 
it  before  nightfall,  incautiously  pushed  on  his  wearied  horses. 
When  he  was  fairly  entangled  in  its  rocky  defiles,  a multitude 
of  armed  warriors,  springing,  as  it  seemed,  from  every  cavern 
and  thicket  of  the  sierra,  filled  the  air  with  their  war-cries  and 
rushed  down,  like  one  of  their  own  mountain-torrents,  on  the 


11  Carta  de  la  Justicia  y Regimiento  de  la  Ciudad  de  Xauja,  MS. — Pedro  Pizarro,  Des» 
cub.  y Conq.,  MS.— Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS.— Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  5,  lib.  4, 
cap.  10. — Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. 


CHAP,  vm.]  ENCOUNTER  WITH  THE  NAT/FES.  363 

invaders,  as  they  were  painfully  toiling  up  the  steeps.  Men 
and  horses  were  overturned  in  the  fury  of  the  assault,  and  the 
foremost  files,  rolling  back  on  those  below,  spread  ruin  and 
consternation  in  their  ranks.  De  Soto  in  vain  endeavored  to 
restore  order,  and,  if  possible,  to  charge  the  assailants.  The 
horses  were  blinded  and  maddened  by  the  missiles,  while  the 
desperate  natives,  clinging  to  their  legs,  strove  to  prevent  their 
ascent  up  the  rocky  pathway.  De  Soto  saw  that,  unless  he 
gained  a level  ground  which  opened  at  some  distance  before 
him,  all  must  be  lost.  Cheering  on  his  men  with  the  old 
battle-cry,  that  always  went  to  the  heart  of  a Spaniard,  he 
struck  his  spurs  deep  into  the  sides  of  his  wearied  charger,  and, 
gallantly  supported  by  his  troop,  broke  through  the  dark  array 
of  warriors,  and,  shaking  them  off  to  the  right  and  left,  at  length 
succeeded  in  placing  himself  on  the  broad  level. 

Here  both  parties  paused,  as  if  by  mutual  consent,  for  a few 
moments.  A little  stream  ran  through  the  plain,  at  which  the 
Spaniards  watered  their  horses  ; 12  and,  the  animals  having  re- 
covered wind,  De  Soto  and  his  men  made  a desperate  charge 
on  their  assailants.  The  undaunted  Indians  sustained  the 
shock  with  firmness  ; and  the  result  of  the  combat  was  still 
doubtful  when  the  shades  of  evening,  falling  thicker  around 
them,  separated  the  combatants. 

Both  parties  then  withdrew  from  the  field,  taking  up  their 
respective  stations  within  bow-shot  of  each  other,  so  that  the 
voices  of  the  warriors  on  either  side  could  be  distinctly  heard 
in  the  stillness  of  the  night.  But  very  different  were  the  re- 
flections of  the  two  hosts.  The  Indians,  exulting  in  their  tem- 
porary triumph,  looked  with  confidence  to  the  morrow  to 
complete  it.  The  Spaniards,  on  the  other  hand,  were  propor- 
tionably  discouraged.  They  were  not  prepared  for  this  spirit 
of  resistance  in  an  enemy  hitherto  so  tame.  Several  cavaliers 
had  fallen — one  of  them  by  a blow  from  a Peruvian  battle- 
axe,  which  clove  his  head  to  the  chin,  attesting  the  power  of 
the  weapon  and  of  the  arm  that  used  it.13  Several  horses,  too, 

19  Ped.  Sancho,  Ret,  ap.  Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  fol.  405. 

19  Ibid.,  loc.  cit. 


Peru  16 


Yol.  1 


364 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


had  been  killed  ; and  the  loss  of  these  was  almost  as  severely 
felt  as  that  of  their  riders,  considering  the  great  cost  and  diffi- 
culty of  transporting  them  to  these  distant  regions.  Few 
either  of  the  men  or  horses  had  escaped  without  wounds,  and 
the  Indian  allies  had  suffered  still  more  severely. 

It  seemed  probable,  from  the  pertinacity  and  a certain  or- 
der maintained  in  the  assault,  that  it  was  directed  by  some 
leader  of  military  experience — perhaps  the  Indian  commander 
Quizquiz,  who  was  said  to  be  hanging  round  the  environs  of 
Cuzco  with  a considerable  force. 

Notwithstanding  the  reasonable  cause  of  apprehension  for 
the  morrow,  De  Soto,  like  a stout-hearted  cavalier  as  he  was, 
strove  to  keep  up  the  spirits  of  his  followers.  If  they  had 
beaten  off  the  enemy  when  their  horses  were  jaded  and  their 
own  strength  nearly  exhausted,  how  much  easier  it  would  be 
to  come  off  victorious  when  both  were  restored  by  a night’s 
rest  ! and  he  told  them  to  “ trust  in  the  Almighty,  who  would 
never  desert  his  faithful  followers  in  their  extremity.”  The 
event  justified  De  Soto’s  confidence  in  this  seasonable  succor. 

From  time  to  time,  on  his  march,  he  had  sent  advices  to 
Pizarro  of  the  menacing  state  of  the  country,  till  his  com- 
mander, becoming  seriously  alarmed,  was  apprehensive  that 
the  cavalier  might  be  overpowered  by  the  superior  numbers  of 
the  enemy.  He  accordingly  detached  Almagro,  with  nearly 
all  the  remaining  horse,  to  his  support — unencumbered  by  in- 
fantry, that  he  might  move  the  faster.  That  efficient  leader 
advanced  by  forced  marches,  stimulated  by  the  tidings  which 
met  him  on  the  road,  and  was  so  fortunate  as  to  reach  the  foot 
of  the  sierra  of  Vilcaconga  the  very  night  of  the  engage- 
ment. 

There,  hearing  of  the  encounter,  he  pushed  forward  without 
halting,  though  his  horses  were  spent  with  travel.  The  night 
was  exceedingly  dark,  and  Almagro,  afraid  of  stumbling  on 
the  enemy’s  bivouac,  and  desirous  to  give  De  Soto  information 
of  his  approach,  commanded  his  trumpets  to  sound,  till  the 
notes,  winding  through  the  defiles  of  the  mountains,  broke 
the  slumbers  of  his  countrymen,  sounding  like  blithest  music 


chap,  viii.]  ENCOUNTER  WITH  THE  NATIVES.  365 


in  their  ears.  They  quickly  replied  with  their  own  bugles, 
and  soon  had  the  satisfaction  to  embrace  their  deliverers.14 

Great  was  the  dismay  of  the  Peruvian  host  when  the  morn- 
ing light  discovered  the  fresh  reinforcement  of  the  ranks  of  the 
Spaniards.  There  was  no  use  in  contending  with  an  enemy 
who  gathered  strength  from  the  conflict,  and  who  seemed  to 
multiply  his  numbers  at  will.  Without  further  attempt  to  re- 
new the  fight,  they  availed  themselves  of  a thick  fog,  which 
hung  over  the  lower  slopes  of  the  hills,  to  effect  their  retreat, 
and  left  the  passes  open  to  the  invaders.  The  two  cavaliers 
then  continued  their  march  until  they  extricated  their  forces 
from  the  sierra,  when,  taking  up  a secure  position,  they  pro- 
posed to  await  there  the  arrival  of  Pizarro.15 

The  commander-in-chief,  meanwhile,  lay  at  Xauxa,  where 
he  was  greatly  disturbed  by  the  rumors  which  reached  him  of 
the  state  of  the  country.  His  enterprise,  thus  far,  had  gone 
forward  so  smoothly  that  he  was  no  better  prepared  than  his 
lieutenant  to  meet  with  resistance  from  the  natives.  He  did 
not  seem  to  comprehend  that  the  mildest  nature  might  at  last 
be  roused  by  oppression,  and  that  the  massacre  of  their  Inca, 
whom  they  regarded  with  such  awful  veneration,  would  be 
likely,  if  anything  could  do  it,  to  wake  them  from  their 
apathy. 

The  tidings  which  he  now  received  of  the  retreat  of  the 
Peruvians  were  most  welcome  ; and  he  caused  mass  to  be  said, 
and  thanksgivings  to  be  offered  up  to  Heaven,  “ which  had 
shown  itself  thus  favorable  to  the  Christians  throughout  this 
mighty  enterprise.  ’ ’ The  Spaniard  was  ever  a crusader.  He 
was  in  the  sixteenth  century  what  Coeur  de  Lion  and  his  brave 
knights  were  in  the  twelfth,  with  this  difference ; the  cavalier 
of  that  day  fought  for  the  Cross  and  for  glory,  while  gold  and 
the  Cross  were  the  watchwords  of  the  Spaniard.  The  spirit 
of  chivalry  had  waned  somewhat  before  the  spirit  of  trade  ; 

14  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Herrera,  Hist,  general,  dec.  5,  lib.  5,  cap.  3. 

15  The  account  of  De  Soto’s  affair  with  the  natives  is  given  in  more  or  less  detail  by 
Ped.  Sancho,  Rel.,  ap.  Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  fol.  405. — Conq.  iPob.  del  Piru,  MS. — Relacion 
del  primer  Descub.,  MS. — Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — persons  all  present  in 
the  army. 


366 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  IIL 


but  the  fire  of  religious  enthusiasm  still  burned  as  bright  under 
the  quilted  mail  of  the  American  Conqueror  as  it  did  of  yore 
under  the  iron  panoply  of  the  soldier  of  Palestine. 

It  seemed  probable  that  some  man  of  authority  had  organ- 
ized, or  at  least  countenanced,  this  resistance  of  the  natives ; 
and  suspicion  fell  on  the  captive  chief  Challcuchima,  who  was 
accused  of  maintaining  a secret  correspondence  with  his  con- 
federate Quizquiz.  Pizarro  waited  on  the  Indian  noble,  and, 
charging  him  with  the  conspiracy,  reproached  him,  as  he  had 
formerly  done  his  royal  master,  with  ingratitude  toward  the 
Spaniards,  who  had  dealt  with  him  so  liberally.  He  con- 
cluded by  the  assurance  that,  if  he  did  not  cause  the  Peruvians 
to  lay  down  their  arms  and  tender  their  submission  at  once, 
he  should  be  burnt  alive  so  soon  as  they  reached  Almagro’s 
quarters.16 

The  Indian  chief  listened  to  the  terrible  menace  with  the 
utmost  composure.  He  denied  having  had  any  communica- 
tion with  his  countrymen,  and  said  that,  in  his  present  state 
of  confinement  at  least,  he  could  have  no  power  to  bring  them 
to  submission.  He  then  remained  doggedly  silent,  and  Pi- 
zarro did  not  press  the  matter  further.17  But  he  placed  a 
strong  guard  over  his  prisoner,  and  caused  him  to  be  put  in 
irons.  It  was  an  ominous  proceeding,  and  had  been  the  pre- 
cursor of  the  death  of  Atahuallpa. 

Before  quitting  Xauxa,  a misfortune  befell  the  Spaniards,  in 
the  death  of  their  creature,  the  young  Inca  Toparca.  Suspi- 
cion, of  course,  fell  on  Challcuchima,  now  selected  as  the 
scape-goat  for  all  the  offences  of  his  nation.18  It  was  a dis- 
appointment to  Pizarro,  who  hoped  to  find  a convenient  shelter 
for  his  future  proceedings  under  this  shadow  of  royalty.19 

16  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. — Ped.  Sancho,  Rel.,  ap.  Ramusio,  tom.  iii., 
fol.  406. 

17  Ped.  Sancho,  Rel.,  ap.  Ramusio,  ubi  supra.* 

18  It  seems,  from  the  language  of  the  letter  addressed  to  the  emperor  by  the  municipality 
of  Xauxa,  that  the  troops  themselves  were  far  from  being  convinced  of  Challcuchima’s 
guilt : “ Publico  fue,  aunque  dello  no  ubo  averiguacion  in  certenidad,  que  el  capitan  Cha- 
liconiman  le  abia  dado  ierbas  o a beber  con  que  murio.”  Carta  de  la  Just,  y Reg.  de 
Xauja,  MS. 

19  According  to  Velasco,  Toparca,  whom,  however,  he  calls  by  another  name,  tore  off 
the  diadem  bestowed  on  him  by  Pizarro,  with  disdain,  and  died  in  a few  weeks  of  cha- 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


CHALLCUCHIMA  BURNT. 


367 


The  general  considered  it  most  prudent  not  to  hazard  the 
loss  of  his  treasures  by  taking  them  on  the  march,  and  he  ac- 
cordingly left  them  at  Xauxa,  under  a guard  of  forty  soldiers, 
who  remained  there  in  garrison.  No  event  of  importance  oc- 
curred on  the  road,  and,  Pizarro  having  effected  a junction 
with  Almagro,  their  united  forces  soon  entered  the  vale  of 
Xaquixaguana,  about  five  leagues  from  Cuzco.  This  was  one 
of  those  bright  spots,  so  often  found  embosomed  amidst  the 
Andes,  the  more  beautiful  from  contrast  with  the  savage  char- 
acter of  the  scenery  around  it.  A river  flowed  through  the 
valley,  affording  the  means  of  irrigating  the  soil  and  clothing 
it  in  perpetual  verdure  ; and  the  rich  and  flowering  vegetation 
spread  out  like  a cultivated  garden.  The  beauty  of  the  place 
and  its  delicious  coolness  commended  it  as  a residence  for  the 
Peruvian  nobles,  and  the  sides  of  the  hills  were  dotted  with 
their  villas,  which  afforded  them  a grateful  retreat  in  the  heats 
of  summer.20  Yet  the  centre  of  the  valley  was  disfigured  by  a 
quagmire  of  some  extent,  occasioned  by  the  frequent  overflow- 
ing of  the  waters  ; but  the  industry  of  the  Indian  architects 
had  constructed  a solid  causeway,  faced  with  heavy  stone,  and 
connected  with  the  great  road,  which  traversed  the  whole 
breadth  of  the  morass.21 

In  this  valley  Pizarro  halted  for  several  days,  while  he  re- 
freshed his  troops  from  the  well-stored  magazines  of  the  Incas. 
His  first  act  was  to  bring  Challcuchima  to  trial — if  trial  that 
could  be  called,  where  sentence  may  be  said  to  have  gone 
hand  in  hand  with  accusation.  We  are  not  informed  of  the 
nature  of  the  evidence.  It  was  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  Spanish 
captains  of  the  chieftain’s  guilt.  Nor  is  it  at  all  incredible 
that  Challcuchima  should  have  secretly  encouraged  a move- 
ment among  the  people,  designed  to  secure  his  country’s  free- 
dom and  his  own.  He  was  condemned  to  be  burnt  alive  on 

grin.  (Hist,  de  Quito,  tom.  i.,  p.  377  ) This  writer,  a Jesuit  of  Quito,  seems  to  feel  him- 
self bound  to  make  out  as  good  a case  for  Atahuallpa  and  his  family  as  if  he  had  been 
expressly  retained  in  their  behalf.  His  vouchers— when  he  condescends  to  give  any — too 
rarely  bear  him  out  in  his  statements  to  inspire  us  with  much  confidence  in  his  correctness. 

50  “ Auia  en  este  valle  muy  sumptuosos  aposentos  y ricos  adonde  los  senores  del  Cuaefc 
salian  a tomar  sus  plazeres  y solazes.”  Cieza  de  Leon,  Cronica,  cap.  91. 

ax  Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 


368 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III, 


the  spot.  “ Some  thought  it  a hard  measure,”  says  Herrera  ; 
“ but  those  who  are  governed  by  reasons  of  state  policy  are  apt 
to  shut  their  eyes  against  everything  else.”  22  Why  this  cruel 
mode  of  execution  was  so  often  adopted  by  the  Spanish  Conquer- 
ors is  not  obvious  ; unless  it  was  that  the  Indian  was  an  infidel, 
and  fire,  from  ancient  date,  seems  to  have  been  considered  the 
fitting  doom  of  the  infidel,  as  the  type  of  that  inextinguishable 
flame  which  awaited  him  in  the  regions  of  the  damned. 

Father  Valverde  accompanied  the  Peruvian  chieftain  to  the 
stake.  He  seems  always  to  have  been  present  at  this  dreary 
moment,  anxious  to  profit  by  it,  if  possible,  to  work  the  conver- 
sion of  the  victim.  He  painted  in  gloomy  colors  the  dreadful 
doom  of  the  unbeliever,  to  whom  the  waters  of  baptism  could 
alone  secure  the  ineffable  glories  of  paradise.23  It  does  not  ap- 
pear that  he  promised  any  commutation  of  punishment  in  this 
world.  But  his  arguments  fell  on  a stony  heart,  and  the  chief 
coldly  replied,  he  “ did  not  understand  the  religion  of  the 
white  men.”  24  He  might  be  pardoned  for  not  comprehending 
the  beauty  of  a faith  which,  as  it  would  seem,  had  borne  so 
bitter  fruits  to  him.  In  the  midst  of  his  tortures  he  showed 
the  characteristic  courage  of  the  American  Indian,  whose  power 
of  endurance  triumphs  over  the  power  of  persecution  in  his 
enemies,  and  he  died  with  his  last  breath  invoking  the  name 
of  Pachacamac.  His  own  followers  brought  the  fagots  to  feed 
the  flames  that  consumed  him.25 

Soon  after  this  tragic  event,  Pizarro  was  surprised  by  a visit 
from  a Peruvian  noble,  who  came  in  great  state,  attended  by  a 
numerous  and  showy  retinue.  It  was  the  young  prince  Manco, 
brother  of  the  unfortunate  Huascar,  and  the  rightful  successor 
to  the  crown.  Being  brought  before  the  Spanish  commander, 
he  announced  his  pretensions  to  the  throne,  and  claimed  the 
protection  of  the  strangers.  It  is  said  he  had  meditated  re- 
sisting them  by  arms,  and  had  encouraged  the  assaults  made 

22  Hist,  genera!,  dec.  5,  lib.  6,  cap.  3. 

28  Ped.  Sancho,  Rei.,  ap.  Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  fol.  406.  24  Ibid.,  loc.  cit. 

36  Pedro  Sancho,  Rel.,  ap.  Ramusio,  loc.  cit. — Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 
—The  MS.  of  the  old  Conqueror  is  so  much  damaged  in  this  part  of  it  that  much  of  his 
account  is  entirely  effaced. 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


ARRIVAL  AT  CUZCO . 


369 


on  them  on  their  march,  but,  finding  resistance  ineffectual,  he 
had  taken  this  politic  course,  greatly  to  the  displeasure  of  his 
more  resolute  nobles.  However  this  may  be,  Pizarro  listened  to 
his  application  with  singular  contentment,  for  he  saw  in  this  new 
scion  of  the  true  royal  stock  a more  effectual  instrument  for  his 
purposes  than  he  could  have  found  in  the  family  of  Quito,  with 
whom  the  Peruvians  had  but  little  sympathy.  He  received  the 
young  man,  therefore,  with  great  cordiality,  and  did  not  hesitate 
to  assure  him  that  he  had  been  sent  into  the  country  by  his  master 
the  Castilian  sovereign,  in  order  to  vindicate  the  claims  of  Huas- 
car  to  the  crown,  and  to  punish  the  usurpation  of  his  rival.26 

Taking  with  him  the  Indian  prince,  Pizarro  now  resumed 
his  march.  It  was  interrupted  for  a few  hours  by  a party  of 
the  natives,  who  lay  in  wait  for  him  in  the  neighboring  sierra. 
A sharp  skirmish  ensued,  in  which  the  Indians  behaved  with 
great  spirit  and  inflicted  some  little  injury  on  the  Spaniards  ; 
but  the  latter  at  length,  shaking  them  off,  made  good  their 
passage  through  the  defile,  and  the  enemy  did  not  care  to  fol- 
low them  into  the  open  country. 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  the  Conquerors  came  in 
sight  of  Cuzco.27  The  descending  sun  was  streaming  his  broad 
rays  full  on  the  imperial  city,  where  many  an  altar  was  dedi- 
cated to  his  worship.  The  low  ranges  of  buildings,  showing  in 
his  beams  like  so  many  lines  of  silvery  light,  filled  up  the  bosom 
of  the  valley  and  the  lower  slopes  of  the  mountains,  whose 
shadowy  forms  hung  darkly  over  the  fair  city,  as  if  to  shield  it 
from  the  menaced  profanation.  It  was  so  late  that  Pizarro  re- 
solved to  defer  his  entrance  till  the  following  morning. 

That  night  vigilant  guard  was  kept  in  the  camp,  and  the 
soldiers  slept  on  their  arms.  But  it  passed  away  without  an- 
noyance from  the  enemy,  and  early  on  the  following  day,  No- 
vember 15,  1533,  Pizarro  prepared  for  his  entrance  into  the 
Peruvian  capital.28 

The  little  army  was  formed  into  three  divisions,  of  which 

26  Ped.  Sancho,  Rel.,  ap.  Ramusio,  t.  iii.,  fol.  406. — Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 

27  “ Y dos  horas  antes  que  el  Sol  se  pusiese,  llegaron  a vista  de  la  ciudad  del  Cuzco.” 
Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. 

28  The  chronicles  differ  as  to  the  precise  date.  There  can  be  no  better  authorities  than 


370 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


the  centre,  or  “ battle,”  as  it  was  called,  was  led  by  the  gen- 
eral. The  suburbs  were  thronged  with  a countless  multitude 
of  the  natives,  who  had  flocked  from  the  city  and  the  sur- 
rounding country  to  witness  the  showy  and,  to  them,  startling 
pageant.  All  looked  with  eager  curiosity  on  the  strangers,  the 
fame  of  whose  terrible  exploits  had  spread  to  the  remotest 
parts  of  the  empire.  They  gazed  with  astonishment  on  their 
dazzling  arms  and  fair  complexions,  which  seemed  to  proclaim 
them  the  true  Children  of  the  Sun  ; and  they  listened  with 
feelings  of  mysterious  dread  as  the  trumpet  sent  forth  its  pro- 
longed notes  through  the  streets  of  the  capital  and  the  solid 
ground  shook  under  the  heavy  tramp  of  the  cavalry. 

The  Spanish  commander  rode  directly  up  the  great  square. 
It  was  surrounded  by  low  piles  of  buildings,  among  which 
were  several  palaces  of  the  Incas.  One  of  these,  erected  by 
Huayna  Capac,  was  surmounted  by  a tower,  while  the  ground 
floor  was  occupied  by  one  or  more  immense  halls,  like  those 
described  in  Caxamalca,  where  the  Peruvian  nobles  held  their 
fetes  in  stormy  weather.  These  buildings  afforded  convenient 
barracks  for  the  troops,  though  during  the  first  few  weeks  they 
remained  under  their  tents  in  the  open  plaza , with  their  horses 
picketed  by  their  side,  ready  to  repulse  any  insurrection  of  the 
inhabitants.29 

The  capital  of  the  Incas,  though  falling  short  of  the  El  Do- 
rado which  had  engaged  their  credulous  fancies,  astonished  the 
Spaniards  by  the  beauty  of  its  edifices,  the  length  and  regular- 
ity of  its  streets,  and  the  good  order  and  appearance  of  com- 
fort, even  luxury,  visible  in  its  numerous  population.  It  far 
surpassed  all  they  had  yet  seen  in  the  New  World.  The  pop- 
ulation of  the  city  is  computed  by  one  of  the  Conquerors  at 
two  hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  and  that  of  the  suburbs 
at  as  many  more.30  This  account  is  not  confirmed,  as  far  as  I 

Pedro  Sancho’s  narrative  and  the  Letter  of  the  Magistrates  of  Xauxa,  which  I have  fol- 
lowed in  the  text. 

20  Ped.  Sancho,  Rel.,  ap.  Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  fol.  407. — Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i, 
lib.  7,  cap.  10. — Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. 

30  “ Esta  ciudad  era  muy  grande  i mui  populosa  de  grandes  edificios  i comarcas,  quando 
los  Espafloles  entraron  la  primera  vez  en  ella  ha  via  gran  cantidad  de  gente,  seria  pueblo 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


ARRIVAL  AT  CUZCO . 


371 


have  seen,  by  any  other  writer.  But,  however  it  may  be  ex- 
aggerated, it  is  certain  that  Cuzco  was  the  metropolis  of  a 
great  empire,  the  residence  of  the  court  and  the  chief  nobility  ; 
frequented  by  the  most  skilful  mechanics  and  artisans  of  every 
description,  who  found  a demand  for  their  ingenuity  in  the 
royal  precincts ; while  the  place  was  garrisoned  by  a numerous 
soldiery,  and  was  the  resort,  finally,  of  emigrants  from  the 
most  distant  provinces.  The  quarters  whence  this  motley  pop- 
ulation came  were  indicated  by  their  peculiar  dress,  and  es- 
pecially their  head -gear,  so  rarely  found  at  all  on  the  American 
Indian,  which,  with  its  variegated  colors,  gave  a picturesque 
effect  to  the  groups  and  masses  in  the  streets.  The  habitual 
order  and  decorum  maintained  in  this  multifarious  assembly 
showed  the  excellent  police  of  the  capital,  where  the  only 
sounds  that  disturbed  the  repose  of  the  Spaniards  were  the 
noises  of  feasting  and  dancing,  which  the  natives,  with  happy 
insensibility,  constantly  prolonged  to  a late  hour  of  the  night.31 

The  edifices  of  the  better  sort — and  they  were  very  numer- 
ous— were  of  stone,  or  faced  with  stone.32  Among  the  prin- 
cipal were  the  royal  residences ; as  each  sovereign  built  a new 
palace  for  himself,  covering,  though  low,  a large  extent  of 
ground.  The  walls  were  sometimes  stained  or  painted  with 
gaudy  tints,  and  the  gates,  we  are  assured,  were  sometimes  of 
colored  marble.33  “ In  the  delicacy  of  the  stone- work,  ’ ’ says 
another  of  the  Conquerors,  “ the  natives  far  excelled  the 
Spaniards,  though  the  roofs  of  their  dwellings,  instead  of  tile?, 

de  mas  de  40  mill,  vecinos  solamente  lo  que  tomaba  la  ciudad,  que  arravalles  i comarca  en 
deredor  del  Cuzco  A 10  6 12  leguas  creo  yo  que  havia  docientos  mill.  Indios,  porque  esto 
era  lo  mas  poblado  de  todos  estos  reinos.”  (Conq.  i Pob.  del  Piru,  MS.)  The  vecino  or 
“ householder”  is  computed,  usually,  as  representing  five  individuals. — Yet  Father  Val- 
verde,  in  a letter  written  a few  years  after  this,  speaks  of  the  city  as  having  only  three  or 
four  thousand  houses  at  the  time  of  its  occupation,  and  the  suburbs  as  having  nineteen  or 
twenty  thousand.  (Carta  al  Emperador,  MS.,  20  de  Marzo,  1539.)  It  is  possible  that  he 
took  into  the  account  only  the  better  kind  of  houses,  not  considering  the  mud  huts,  or 
rather  hovels,  which  made  so  large  a part  of  a Peruvian  town,  as  deserving  notice. 

31  “ Heran  tantos  los  atambores  que  de  noche  sa  oian  por  todas  partes  bailando  y can- 
tando  y bebiendo  que  toda  la  mayor  parte  de  la  noche  se  les  pasava  en  esto  cotidiana- 
mente.”  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 

32  “ La  maggior  parte  di  queste  case  sono  di  pietra,  el  I’altre  hano  la  meta  della  facciata 
di  pietra.”  Ped.  Sancho,  Rel„  ap.  Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  fol.  4x3. 

33  **  Che  sono  le  principali  della  citta  dipinte  et  lauorate,  et  di  pietra  : et  la  miglior  d’esse 
4 la  casa  di  Guainacaba  Cacique  vecchio,  et  la  porta  d’essa  4 di  marmo  bianco  et  rosso, 


372 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


were  only  of  thatch,  but  put  together  with  the  nicest  art.  ’ ’ 34 
The  sunny  climate  of  Cuzco  did  not  require  a very  substantial 
material  for  defence  against  the  weather. 

The  most  important  building  was  the  fortress,  planted  on  a 
solid  rock  that  rose  boldly  above  the  city.  It  was  built  of 
hewn  stone,  so  finely  wrought  that  it  was  impossible  to  detect 
the  line  of  junction  between  the  blocks,  and  the  approaches  to 
it  were  defended  by  three  semicircular  parapets,  composed  of 
such  heavy  masses  of  rock  that  it  bore  resemblance  to  the  kind 
of  work  known  to  architects  as  the  Cyclopean.  The  fortress 
was  raised  to  a height  rare  in  Peruvian  architecture ; and  from 
the  summit  of  the  tower  the  eye  of  the  spectator  ranged  over  a 
magnificent  prospect,  in  which  the  wild  features  of  the  moun- 
tain scenery,  rocks,  woods,  and  waterfalls,  were  mingled  with 
the  rich  verdure  of  the  valley,  and  the  shining  city  filling  up 
the  foreground — all  blended  in  sweet  harmony  under  the 
deep  azure  of  a tropical  sky. 

The  streets  were  long  and  narrow.  They  were  arranged 
with  perfect  regularity,  crossing  one  another  at  right  angles ; 
and  from  the  great  square  diverged  four  principal  streets  con- 
necting with  the  high-roads  of  the  empire.  The  square  itself, 
and  many  parts  of  the  city,  were  paved  with  a fine  pebble.35 
Through  the  heart  of  the  capital  ran  a river  of  pure  water,  if 
it  might  not  be  rather  termed  a canal,  the  banks  or  sides  of 


et  d’altri  colori.”  (Ibid.,  ubi  supra.)  The  buildings  were  usually  of  freestone.  There 
may  have  been  porphyry  from  the  neighboring  mountains  mixed  with  this,  which  the  Span- 
iards mistook  for  marble. 

34  “Todo  labrado  de  piedra  muy  prima,  que  cierto  toda  la  canteria  desta  cibdad  hace 
gran  ventaja  a la  de  Espana,  aunque  carecen  de  teja  que  todas  las  casas  sino  es  la  forta- 
leza,  que  era  hecha  de  azoteas,  son  cubiertas  de  paja,  aunque  tan  primamente  puesta,  que 
parece  bien.”  Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. 

36  Ped.  Sancho,  Rel.,  ap.  Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  ubi  supra. — A passage  in  the  Letter  of  the 
Municipality  of  Xauxa  is  worth  quoting,  as  confirming  on  the  best  authority  some  of  the 
interesting  particulars  mentioned  in  the  text : “ Esta  cibdad  es  la  mejor  e maior  que  en 
la  tierra  se  ha  visto,  i aun  en  Yndias  ; e decimos  a V.  M.  ques  tan  hermosa  i de  tan  buenos 
edeficios  que  en  Espana  seria  muy  de  ver  ; tiene  las  calles  por  mucho  concierto  en  pedra- 
das  i por  medio  deltas  un  cano  enlosado,  la  plaza  es  hecha  en  cuadra  i empedrada  de 
quijas  pequenas  todas,  todas  las  mas  de  las  casas  son  de  Senores  Principales  hechas  de 
canteria,  esta  en  una  ladera  de  un  zerro  en  el  cual  sobre  el  pueblo  esta  una  fortaleza  mul 
bien  obrada  de  canteria,  tan  de  ver  que  por  Espafioles  que  han  andado  Reinos  estrafios 
dicen  no  haver  visto  otro  edeficio  igual  al  della.”  Carta  de  la  Just,  y Reg.  de  Xauja, 
MS. 


chap.  vin.  3 DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  CITY. 


373 


which,  for  the  distance  of  twenty  leagues,  were  faced  with 
stone.36  Across  this  stream,  bridges,  constructed  of  similar 
broad  flags,  were  thrown  at  intervals,  so  as  to  afford  an  easy 
communication  between  the  different  quarters  of  the  capital.37 

The  most  sumptuous  edifice  in  Cuzco  in  the  times  of  the 
Incas  was  undoubtedly  the  great  temple  dedicated  to  the  Sun, 
which,  studded  with  gold  plates,  as  already  noticed,  was  sur- 
rounded by  convents  and  dormitories  for  the  priests,  with  their 
gardens  and  broad  parterres  sparkling  with  gold.  The  exte- 
rior ornaments  had  been  already  removed  by  the  Conquerors, 
all  but  the  frieze  of  gold,  which,  imbedded  in  the  stones,  still 
encircled  the  principal  building.  It  is  probable  that  the  tales 
of  wealth  so  greedily  circulated  among  the  Spaniards  greatly  ex- 
ceeded the  truth.  If  they  did  not,  the  natives  must  have  been 
very  successful  in  concealing  their  treasures  from  the  invaders. 
Yet  much  still  remained,  not  only  in  the  great  House  of  the 
Sun,  but  in  the  inferior  temples  which  swarmed  in  the  capital. 

Pizarro,  on  entering  Cuzco,  had  issued  an  order  forbidding 
any  soldier  to  offer  violence  to  the  dwellings  of  the  inhabi- 
tants.38 But  the  palaces  were  numerous,  and  the  troops  lost 
no  time  in  plundering  them  of  their  contents,  as  well  as  in 
despoiling  the  religious  edifices.  The  interior  decorations 
supplied  them  with  considerable  booty.  They  stripped  off  the 
jewels  and  rich  ornaments  that  garnished  the  royal  mummies  in 
the  temple  of  Coricancha.  Indignant  at  the  concealment  of 
their  treasures,  they  put  the  inhabitants,  in  some  instances,  to  the 
torture,  and  endeavored  to  extort  from  them  a confession  of 
their  hiding-places.39  They  invaded  the  repose  of  the  sepul- 
chres, in  which  the  Peruvians  often  deposited  their  valuable  ef- 

86  “ Un  rio,  el  cual  baja  por  medio  de  la  cibdad  y desde  que  nace,  mas  de  veinte  leguas 
por  aquel  valle  abajo  donde  hay  muchas  poblaciones,  va  enlosado  todo  por  el  suelo,  y las 
varrancas  de  una  parte  y de  otra  hechas  de  canteria  labrada,  cosa  nunca  vista,  ni  oida.” 
Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. 

87  The  reader  will  find  a few  repetitions  in  this  chapter  of  what  I have  already  said,  in 
the  Introduction,  of  Cuzco  under  the  Incas.  But  the  facts  here  stated  are  for  the  most 
part  drawn  from  other  sources,  and  some  repetition  was  unavoidable  in  order  to  give  a 
distinct  image  of  the  capital. 

38  “ pUes  mando  el  marquez  dar  vn  pregon  que  ningun  espahol  fuese  a entrar  en  las 
casas  de  los  naturales  6 tomalles  nada.”  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 

30  Gomara,  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  cap.  123. 


374 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU \ 


[BOOK  III. 


fects,  and  compelled  the  grave  to  give  up  its  dead.  No  place  was 
left  unexplored  by  the  rapacious  Conquerors  ; and  they  occasion- 
ally stumbled  on  a mine  of  wealth  that  rewarded  their  labors. 

In  a cavern  near  the  city  they  found  a number  of  vases  of 
pure  gold,  richly  embossed  with  the  figures  of  serpents,  locusts, 
and  other  animals.  Among  the  spoil  were  four  golden  llamas 
and  ten  or  twelve  statues  of  women,  some  of  gold,  others  of 
silver,  “ which  merely  to  see,”  says  one  of  the  Conquerors, 
with  some  naivete , “ was  truly  a great  satisfaction.”  The  gold 
was  probably  thin,  for  the  figures  were  all  as  large  as  life ; and 
several  of  them,  being  reserved  for  the  royal  fifth,  were  not 
recast,  but  sent  in  their  original  form  to  Spain.40  The  maga- 
zines were  stored  with  curious  commodities;  richly  tinted 
robes  of  cotton  and  feather-work,  gold  sandals,  and  slippers  of 
the  same  material,  for  the  women,  and  dresses  composed  en- 
tirely of  beads  of  gold.41  The  grain  and  other  articles  of  food, 
with  which  the  magazines  were  filled,  were  held  in  contempt 
by  the  Conquerors,  intent  only  on  gratifying  their  lust  for 
gold.42  The  time  came  when  the  grain  would  have  been  of  far 
more  value. 

Yet  the  amount  of  treasure  in  the  capital  did  not  equal  the 
sanguine  expectations  that  had  been  formed  by  the  Spaniards. 
But  the  deficiency  was  supplied  by  the  plunder  which  they 
had  collected  at  various  places  on  their  march.  In  one  place, 
for  example,  they  met  with  ten  planks  or  bars  of  solid  silver, 
each  piece  being  twenty  feet  in  length,  one  foot  in  breadth, 
and  two  or  three  inches  thick.  They  were  intended  to  deco- 
rate the  dwelling  of  an  Inca  noble.43 

40  “ Et  fra  1’altre  cose  singolari,  era  veder  quattro  castrati  di  fin  oro  molto  grandi,  et  io 

£>  12  statue  di  done,  della  grandezza  delle  done  di  quel  paese,  tutte  d’oro  fino,  cosi  belle  et 
ben  fatte  come  se  fossero  viue.  . . . Queste  furono  date  nel  quinto  che  toccaua  a 

S.  M.”  (Ped.  Sancho,  Rel.,  ap.  Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  fol.  409.)  “Muchas  estatuas  y figu- 
ras  de  oro  y plata  enteras,  hecha  la  forma  toda  de  una  muger,  y del  temano  della,  muy 
bien  labradas.”  Relacion  del  primer  Descub.,  MS. 

41  “Avia  ansi  mismo  otras  muchas  plumas  de  diferentes  colores  para  este  efecto  de  hacer 
rropas  que  vestian  los  senores  y senoras  y no  otro  en  los  tiempos  de  sus  fiestas,  avia  tam- 
bien  mantas  hechas  de  chaquira,  de  oro,  y de  plata,  que  heran  vnas  quentecitas  muy  deli- 
cadas,  que  parecia  cosa  de  espanto  ver  su  hechura.”  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 

4a  Ondegardo,  Rel.  Prim.,  MS. 

41  “ Pues  andando  yo  buscando  mahiz  6 otras  cosas  para  comer,  acaso  entre  en  vn 
buhio  donde  halle  estos  tablones  de  plata  que  tengo  dicho  que  heran  hasta  diez  y de  largo 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


TREASURE  FOUND  THERE. 


375 


The  whole  mass  of  treasure  was  brought  into  a common 
heap,  as  in  Caxamalca ; and,  after  some  of  the  finer  specimens 
had  been  deducted  for  the  crown,  the  remainder  was  delivered 
to  the  Indian  goldsmiths  to  be  melted  down  into  ingots  of  a 
uniform  standard.  The  division  of  the  spoil  was  made  on 
the  same  principle  as  before.  There  were  four  hundred  and 
eighty  soldiers,  including  the  garrison  of  Xauxa,  who  were 
each  to  receive  a share,  that  of  the  cavalry  being  double  that 
of  the  infantry.  The  amount  of  booty  is  stated  variously  by 
those  present  at  the  division  of  it.  According  to  some,  it 
considerably  exceeded  the  ransom  of  Atahuallpa.  Others  state 
it  as  less.  Pedro  Pizarro  says  that  each  horseman  got  six 
thousand  pesos  de  oro,  and  each  one  of  the  infantry  half  that 
sum ; 44  though  the  same  discrimination  was  made  by  Pizarro 
as  before,  in  respect  to  the  rank  of  the  parties,  and  their  rela- 
tive services.  But  Sancho,  the  royal  notary,  and  secretary  of 
the  commander,  estimates  the  whole  amount  as  far  less — not 
exceeding  five  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  and  two  hundred 
pesos  de  oro , and  two  hundred  and  fifteen  thousand  marks  of 
silver.45  In  the  absence  of  the  official  returns,  it  is  impossible  to 
determine  which  is  correct.  But  Sancho’ s narrative  is  coun- 
tersigned, it  may  be  remembered,  by  Pizarro  and  the  royal 
treasurer  Riquelme,  and  doubtless,  therefore,  shows  the  actual 
amount  for  which  the  Conquerors  accounted  to  the  crown. 

Whichever  statement  we  receive,  the  sum,  combined  with 
that  obtained  at  Caxamalca,  might  well  have  satisfied  the 
cravings  of  the  most  avaricious.  The  sudden  influx  of  so  much 
wealth,  and  that,  too,  in  so  transferable  a form,  among  a party 
of  reckless  adventurers  little  accustomed  to  the  possession  of 
money,  had  its  natural  effect.  It  supplied  them  with  the  means 
of  gaming,  so  strong  and  common  a passion  with  the  Spaniards 
that  it  may  be  considered  a national  vice.  Fortunes  were  lost 
and  won  in  a single  day,  sufficient  to  render  the  proprietors 

tenian  veinte  pies  y de  anchor  de  vno  y de  gordor  de  tres  dedos,  di  noticia  dello  al  mar- 
quez  y el  y todos  los  demas  que  con  el  estavan  entraron  & vello.”  Pedro  Pizarro,  Descub. 
y Conq.,  MS. 

44  Descub.  y Conq.,  MS. 

46  Ped.  Sancho,  Rel.,  ap.  Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  fol.  409. 


376 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 


[BOOK  III. 


independent  for  life ; and  many  a desperate  gamester,  by  an 
unlucky  throw  of  the  dice  or  turn  of  the  cards,  saw  himself 
stripped  in  a few  hours  of  the  fruits  of  years  of  toil,  and  obliged 
to  begin  over  again  the  business  of  rapine.  Among  these,  one 
in  the  cavalry  service  is  mentioned,  named  Leguizano,  who 
had  received  as  his  share  of  the  booty  the  image  of  the  Sun, 
which,  raised  on  a plate  of  burnished  gold,  spread  over  the 
walls  in  a recess  of  the  great  temple,  and  which,  for  some  rea- 
son or  other — perhaps  because  of  its  superior  fineness — was 
not  recast  like  the  other  ornaments.  This  rich  prize  the 
spendthrift  lost  in  a single  night ; whence  it  came  to  be  a 
proverb  in  Spain,  Juega  el  Sol  antes  que  amanezca , “ He 
plays  away  the  Sun  before  sunrise.  ’ ’ 46 

The  effect  of  such  a surfeit  of  the  precious  metals  was  in- 
stantly felt  on  prices.  The  most  ordinary  articles  were  only  to 
be  had  for  exorbitant  sums.  A quire  of  paper  was  sold  for 
ten  pesos  de  oro  ; a bottle  of  wine,  for  sixty ; a sword,  for  forty 
or  fifty ; a cloak,  for  a hundred — sometimes  more ; a pair  of 
shoes  cost  thirty  or  forty  pesos  de  oro , and  a good  horse  could 
not  be  had  for  less  than  twenty-five  hundred.47  Some  brought 
a still  higher  price.  Every  article  rose  in  value,  as  gold  and 
silver,  the  representatives  of  all,  declined.  Gold  and  silver,  in 
short,  seemed  to  be  the  only  things  in  Cuzco  that  were  not 
wealth.  Yet  there  were  some  few  wise  enough  to  return  con- 
tented with  their  present  gains  to  their  native  country.  Here 
their  riches  brought  them  consideration  and  competence,  and, 
while  they  excited  the  envy  of  their  countrymen,  stimulated 
them  to  seek  their  own  fortunes  in  the  like  path  of  adventure. 

49  Garcilasso,  Com.  Real.,  Parte  i,  lib.  3,  cap.  20. 

47  Xerez,  Conq.  del  Peru,  ap  Barcia,  tom.  iii.,  p.  233, 


END  OF  VOL.  I. 


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